Review: NOISES OFF at the Geffen Playhouse

Debuting in 1982, NOISES OFF by playwright Michael Frayn is a classic, having been revived many times, winning Tonys, Drama Desk Awards, and Outer Critics Circle Awards and being adapted into a film in 1992 directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who knows his way around slapstick. Now at The Geffen Playhouse (a co-production with Steppenwolf Theatre Company), director Anna D. Shapiro — along with an ace cast — show that this comedy still has legs and still plays fresh.

Focusing on a hapless British theater director and his chaotic troupe of actors and crew trying to put on a show where everything goes wrong, both onstage and off-, NOISES OFF is a sitcom on steroids, affectionately sending up theater life. Much like the inspired lunacy of “Clue” and “The Play That Goes Wrong,” there are a lot of slamming doors, romantic entanglements, misunderstandings, petty jealousies, and way too many sardines.

There’s a stunning amount for the actors to remember, most of them playing more than one role, each as crazy as the other, and they all rise to the occasion, bringing down the house repeatedly. It’s difficult to not just maintain the level of energy they do, but also to raise the stakes throughout — and they make it look effortless. The text is so sharp and builds incrementally so consistently, it’s continually topping itself. The double entendres are fresh and saucy versus other shows where they come across as crass and sophomoric. It’s a perfect example of finely tuned insanity, where the zaniness isn’t just zany but genius, which is not easy to pull off. For comparison, just look at “Fake It Until You Make It,” now running at the Ahmanson. That show tries so hard to affect breeziness and absurdity, but it comes across as forced and strident — and there’s far less going on!

The show within the show of NOISES OFF (the play the troupe is attempting to launch) is its own farce set in a country house, and scenic designer Todd Rosenthal has crafted a two-story rotating set (so the audience is privy to what goes on behind the scenes as well as in front). It’s creative and economical and colorful, which can also be said for the high-quality costumes by Izumi Inaba. But it’s Frayn’s script (tweaked periodically through the years to update various elements) that is the true star. It sparkles and sings and speeds like a rocket, and at two and a half hours (with two intermissions), it never lags and never feels long.

While there’s nothing explicit in terms of themes or language, it might not be suitable for children under 12, but it’s also so broad that even if some of the content goes over the heads of some younger teens, they’ll still appreciate the bawdiness, as will adults. It’s a gold-standard laugh riot.

Photos by Jeff Lorch

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