I love the play Noises Off. In fact, I’ve now seen it 3 times this year, but I haven’t had a chance to do a longform review of it on the site because the other 2 times were my shorter logs here and here. Then again I often find it difficult to write about comedies, both theatrical and film, because at the end of the day it comes down to the jokes and if they make me laugh or not. It’s hard to find much nuance to wax poetic about in the genre, but I will do my best. Pioneer Theatre Company has a new production of Noises Off and it’s absolutely hilarious and should not be missed.

Part of what makes Noises Off work so well is how it embraces the chaos of a good farce. In many ways it could be seen as a predecessor to the more recent The Play that Goes Wrong. In both, a theatre company is putting on a production where everything is a mess although Noises Off gets more into the relationships of the actors and crew than Wrong does. What I find most impressive at PTC is the way director Shelley Butler is able to keep all the moving pieces working together seamlessly even when everything gets very madcap.

It’s a play split into 3 acts and the amazing two-story set by scenic designer Paige Hathaway is flipped around in between acts so we are sometimes from the perspective of the audience watching the play (called Nothing On) and others from behind the set with the cast and crew. This is especially effective when we see the actors performing or the noise of the crew depending on what side it is on. It’s also very funny how they use the PA announcements to the audience in repeated gags.

The other technical elements to Noises Off at PTC are great but at the end of the day this play comes down to the actors being able to sell the broad comedy and they do here. I love them all but Rhett Guter is an especial favorite as Garry. Whether he’s exasperated at a tangled phone line or literally falling down the staircase he commits 100% to the gags and I was in stitches every time. I also really enjoyed Olivia Kaufmann as the ditzy Brooke. This character barely seems to realize she is in a play or portraying a role which makes her genuine responses so funny. Finally Terence Archie is a riot as the high-minded Frederick who is constantly trying to find deeper meaning to each part of Nothing On despite the exasperation of the director and rest of the cast.

Naturally there is a lot of holiday entertainment at theaters right now but I would encourage readers to make time for Noises Off at PTC this December. We all could use a good laugh and this wonderful play will have you cracking up. It just feels great to be in an audience of fellow Utahns all laughing together. Don’t miss it! It is playing through December 20th and tickets can be purchased here.

Noises Off is a play by Michael Frayn and it originally premiered in 1982 in London opening on Broadway in 1983. It has been revived and rewritten by Frayn many times over the years most recently in 2015

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