by Cari Lynn Pace

Noises Off is a door-slamming winner from the curtain to backstage. Director Bill English must be an expert at herding cats, as this chaotic comedy written by Michael Frayn is a three-ring circus.

Frayn was inspired to write the farce while observing a frantic rehearsal in Britain and observing “What went on backstage was funnier than what was out in front of the curtain.” Noises Off gives a crazy glimpse of a troupe of marginally skilled actors rehearsing a vapid play. Their ineptitude is amusing; their lust for the spotlight hilarious.

Act I opens in a stunning English manor designed by Heather Kenyon. The housekeeper (Julie Eccles) tries to remember her lines and where to put a plateful of sardines. Offstage the frustrated director (Patrick Russell) repeats directions again and again, further flustering the housekeeper.

Two arrivals believe the house is vacant and show up as the housekeeper disappears with the sardines. An estate agent (Joe Ayers) poses as the lord of the manor in an effort to impress the pants off a co-worker. He speaks in unfinished phrases, I mean, you know. He has brought his sexy bimbo co-worker (Sophia Alawi) for a tryst. She’s all for it, and preens in her stage spotlight and undies. She has trouble finding the right door to the bedroom and her lost contact lens. It’s a riot watching her confusion blow up the rehearsal.    

As the would-be lovers exit, the absentee mansion owners (Liz Sklar and Nima Rakhshanifar) return from their foreign hideout to sneak in a private night at their home. They’re dodging the tax man, and admonish the housekeeper to deny she has seen them. The Mrs. heads for the bedroom and the Mr. for the study, but neither door onstage is working properly. The director hollers for the assistant (Vivienne Truong) and handyman (Jamiel St. Rose) to fix them.

The director summons the actor playing the part of the burglar (Louis Parnell) to the stage. The aging burglar is a reputed lush, and the cast hides a bottle to great comedic timing. He requires his lines to be read to him, yet mis-hears whatever he’s told, even when the entire cast shouts the line at him. The fun is just beginning!

In Act II, the stage rotates to reveal what is the backstage area. Hidden trysts and tensions erupt, and the action quickly zips from missed cues to hilarious disaster. 

Noises Off is outlandishly funny due to casting of zany personalities and wild action. Kudos to the surprising pratfalls and fight scenes directed by Patrick Russell and stunt director Chelsea Pace. Comedy is the most demanding type of acting, and this cast is a real door-slammer.

Noises Off plays through November 8 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street, San Francisco.

Info and tickets at or www.sfplayhouse.org.

Photos by Jessica Palopoli

Cari Lynn Pace is a long-time Bay Area theatre critic whose reviews were regularly featured in the Marinscope Community Newspapers.