Karl Marx once famously wrote that “history repeats itself, first time as tragedy, second time as farce.”
Farce. The term encompasses a variety of sometimes elusive meanings. What constitutes a farce in real life or history is not always the same as what we see on stage.
Consider the farce currently being staged at Keegan Theatre near Dupont Circle: Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. This production is a reprise of the original Keegan production from 2010, a splendid remounting of Frayn’s 1982 London production, directed again this time by Keegan artistic director Mark Rhea. The current run is set to close on September 8. By all means, see it!
The Keegan troupe tears up the stage with this comic whirlwind, dazzling in its tour de farce. They chew the comedic scenery and then chomp on the stagy drapes. In classic farcical fashion, multiple doors slam, identities are confused, and hilarity ensues.
Nothing is left untouched on stage; everything collapses into a well-blocked mess. Actions turn inside out and upside down, and everyone falls flat on their pratfalls. Noises Off, told as a play within a play, flashes its pandering pants-down bum with wicked glee and a twinkle in the eye.
Meanwhile, the cast is caught up in an increasingly elusive quest for a tray of sardines. Yes, sardines. Don’t ask. You literally have to see the sardines appear, disappear, and reappear to grasp the ultimate meaning of farce on stage. Add to that the blur of absurdist action, where an axe handle and a whiskey bottle become part of the mise-en-scène. Again, don’t ask. Just watch how brilliantly Rhea stages and choreographs everything until it converges into a deliciously demented denouement. But does farce on stage ever really make sense? Only in a funhouse circus way.
Noises Off, according to Frayn himself, refers to theatrical directions indicating a sound from offstage that predicts something about to happen on stage. The play within the play is being rehearsed by a ragtag group of itinerant actors. The rehearsal, quel dommage, does not go well.
The play opens with the acting troupe at chaotic work, muttering and sputtering during a dress rehearsal of a slightly shabby sex romp titled Nothing On. Nothing good, of course, can come of this, and it immediately goes off the rails, never really getting back on track to the increasing dismay of everyone involved.
Noises Off could just as easily have been titled Knickers Off, as cast members often end up literally pants down while trying, with British diligence, to keep calm and carry on. Like that desperate desire to save face during a full-fledged meltdown, it adds to the force of the farce.
What follows are three acts and a revolving turntable stage, fiendishly crafted by Keegan scene designer Matthew Keenan to amplify the craziness into comic orbital fruition. The stage is first presented conventionally, then turned by Keenan to show the acting company backstage as they attempt, with dwindling success, to rehearse scenes from Nothing On. As the stage turns, it becomes a 360-degree launching pad for laughter at the growing lunacy. This lunacy reaches escape velocity and eventually topples into spinning silliness, with the souffle of stage antics collapsing into magnificently chaotic comedic catastrophe.
Let’s talk about the tremendously talented cast. Among the dazed and demented troupe trying to complete the rehearsal is the Nothing On leading man, Garry LeJeune, played with slapstick perfection by Ryan Sellers. His barely controlled rage during Act One bursts forth full tilt in Act Two. He’s having a hardly concealed fling with Dotty (yes, she’s dotty), played adroitly by Susan Marie Rhea. Dotty’s emotional state is shaky from the beginning — she falls to pieces constantly, wringing laughter from the enraptured audience. She’s also perpetually in pursuit of the ever-elusive tray of sardines. Meanwhile, veteran actor Timothy Lynch plays a veteran actor who’s fallen off the wagon, with bottles of booze constantly tempting him. He’s will-he-nil-he silly throughout.
A special standout is the character Brooke, portrayed with LOL bimbo brilliance by Brigid Wallace Harper. She’s got to be seen to be believed, as she dances provocatively in nothing more than hot pink babydoll PJs. Her high-pitched, squeaky voice and outrageous behavior make her a true kewpie doll on the make.
Noises Off was filmed in 1992 by the estimable Peter Bogdanovich, starring Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, and Christopher Reeve. The film was a modest hit in its day and was co-authored by Frayn himself. Frayn, now nearly 90, is also known for serious plays like Copenhagen (1998), about Nazi efforts to build an atomic weapon during World War II, and Democracy (2003), about Willy Brandt’s decision to publicly acknowledge a Soviet spy within his staff. Frayn is also a highly successful novelist.
But undoubtedly, Noises Off is perhaps the most famous farce in theatrical history, perhaps only rivaled by Molière’s works from four centuries ago. A difficult standard to meet, but arguably Frayn clears the bar. The Keegan production makes it appear almost effortless. Bravo!
NOISES OFF runs thru September 8, 2024
Keegan Theater, 1742 Church St NW, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 265-3767 https://keegantheatre.com/portfolio/noises-off/
