From April 3-6, the Brandeis University Undergraduate Theater Collective (UTC) presented “Noises Off” by Michael Frayn, directed by Laurel Davidoff ’25. A farcical, physical comedy-heavy show that calls for a rotating set, “Noises Off” is certainly no small undertaking. However, the cast and crew pulled it off with aplomb.
The first impression I had of “Noises Off” was its set. A behemoth, two story, rotating construction with stairs, several doors and a whole host of details, the set clearly represented hours upon hours of hard work. However, once the action of the play got going, I quickly realized that the set, astounding as it was, ended up being one of the least impressive things about the show—and that’s all down to the phenomenal performance of every actor on stage and the clever direction by Davidoff and their assistant director, Phoenix Feldman ’27.
“Noises Off” is a play in three acts. The first sees actors in their final rehearsal of the first act of a farce play they are planning on taking on tour around the Northeast. The second act is set backstage midway through the tour, when personal drama is starting to boil over. The third act is on the last leg of the tour, when everything starts to go wrong onstage as well as off. It’s a marathon for the actors, most of whom only have a few moments offstage in each act.
The play opens with Dotty Otley/Mrs. Clackett (played by Andie Cohen ’28), an experienced actor playing the English housekeeper, struggling to keep track of which props go off when. Cohen plays Clackett with a superb English accent, switching to her natural accent whenever Dotty breaks character. Dotty is harangued by Lloyd Dallas, the obsessive, mildly tyrannical director, played to perfection by Mark Sternberg ’28. Sternberg plays Lloyd as constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He spends most of Act I sitting in the house, and I was often torn between watching the action onstage and watching his reactions and facial expressions, which were always funny.
Despite the constant problems our fictional actors experience throughout the rehearsal process, Act I of the play manages to get us through Act I of the play within a play, which is important, because much of the humor of the later acts will rely on us remembering what the show is “supposed” to look like. The actual show presented onstage is a classic farce, silly and full of common farce tropes. You never do find out how Act II of this play-within-a-play goes, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s funny all the same.
As to these fictional actors, Dotty’s fellow actors include the rather airheaded Brooke Ashton as the quintessential “sexy secretary” Vicki (played by Lucy Ernst ’27) and Roger as her onstage partner Garry Lejeune (played by Rowan Scassellati ’26). Ernst and Scassellati don’t need to show quite as much range as the other actors, as their onstage and offstage personas are the most similar. However, they still did an excellent job finding the differences between their actor and character personas. Ernst has a wonderful deadpan delivery that she uses to great effect throughout the show, and Scassellati’s physical comedy is excellent, particularly during Act II.
The duo that is seemingly most concerned for the fate of the show is that of Frederick Fellows/Philip/Richard (Connor Beaney ’25) and Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent (Dilshani Hansa ’28). Their onstage personas are a couple who have fled to Spain for tax evasion, and their actor personas are that of two actors who really are just doing their best—with a dose of at least some unrequited love thrown in. Beaney is fantastic as the anxious, slightly dimwitted and well-meaning Frederick, who can’t stand the sight of blood and is constantly convinced he’s messed up. He’s also apparently unaware that Belinda and Dotty are fighting over his affections. Beaney also manages to easily transform into a tax-evading buffoon whenever he is playing his “onstage” role. Hansa plays Belinda as a cast mom type who is slowly losing her grip on the proceedings. She particularly shines in Act III, when it is Belinda who must improvise her way into a coherent end to the show.
Along with Frederick and Belinda, the onstage stage management team of Poppy Norton-Taylor (Jasper Wolvier ’28) and Timothy Allgood (Serif Vasquez ’28) are desperately trying to keep the show afloat while coping with the demands (and, in Poppy’s case, the unborn child) of Lloyd. The two were audience favorites the night I saw the show, and Wolvier and Vasquez both did a fantastic job, to the point where I forgot that they were actors, not stage management, at times.
The final piece of the “Noises Off” puzzle is the alcoholic, disappearance-prone actor Selsdon Mowbray (John Henry Holcomb ’27), who is playing a burglar (and whose frequent absences necessitate backup burglar costumes in case Tim ends up needing to go on). Holcomb is hilarious throughout the show, with perfect comic timing. His various attempts to get his hands on a bottle of whisky had me cracking up throughout the show.
Indeed, laughter was the theme of the evening, as I think I spend more time laughing than not while watching this production. It was hilarious from top to bottom, with every joke landing. Act II was a particular highlight, in which the cast tries to simultaneously put on the show while also dealing with various personal dramas (an axe gets brought into the proceedings at one point). I was impressed by how effortless and natural the blocking felt, when there were so many moving parts. This was an incredibly complex and detailed show, but everything also felt entirely natural, which is no small feat.
Overall, “Noises Off” was a delight, and one of the best shows—student-run or department—that I have ever seen at Brandeis. The directing was phenomenal, the acting was excellent, the humor of the script came through and the design—particularly the set—was jaw-dropping. This production was a triumph for the UTC and I had so much fun watching it.
