Words and Doors and Bags and Boxes and Sardines: A Noises Off Review

By Kendall Howze

     If you’re looking for something to do from November 30th to December 2nd, Glenelg’s theater department has the perfect solution. Glenelg’s theater teacher, Kassidy Sharp, has been directing the school’s fall play, Noises Off. The play is a comedy, featuring a play within a play, cleverly titled Nothing’s On. In the first act of Noises Off, the characters all struggle to remember their lines and seamlessly run through a full rehearsal of their play. Fortunately, they are all exceptionally supportive of one another. By act two many of their relationships are broken and the cast can no longer stand to work with one another. By the final act, all relationships are in chaos, their play has strayed from the plot, and everyone is struggling to figure out how to keep the show going on.

     The cast was made up of nine members, Senior Jackie Lyons (Brooke), Senior Corinne Rasch (Poppy), Senior Jake Baker (Gary), Senior Jake Wilkin (Tim), Senior Matthew Hulett (Lloyd), Senior AJ Patel (Frederick), Senior Allison Fitzgerald (Dotty), Junior Cameron Denny (Selsdon), and Sophomore Kelsey Flavin (Belinda). They had been rehearsing from mid-September to November 30th. Many of actors had starred in Glenelg’s last straight play, Lend Me a Tenor, but there were many new faces on stage this year. The new cast did not disappoint, filling the auditorium every night.

     Noises Off was a less conventional than Glenelg’s previous straight plays. Generally, our plays have two acts with an intermission in between them. The plot of Noises Off warranted three acts due to the play’s plot. Creatively, their play within a play, Nothing’s On, was performed three times. In the first act, the play ran almost seamlessly, shown to the audience as if they were watching a dress rehearsal. For the second act, stage crew flipped the set around so that the audience was viewing the performance from behind. Nothing’s On was performed again, but instead of seeing the performance, the audience watched the cast member arguing backstage. In the final act, the set was turned around one last time so that the audience was once again viewing the front where the performance was taking place.

     Sophomore Raj Ukondwa said that the play “was overall cohesive and well thought out.” Many of the audience members responded positively to the unorthodox design, which can be difficult for the director/cast to achieve when taking such risks. Often times, it is difficult to predict how an audience may react to structural changes, but audience members like Senior Max Stout felt that “the structure was impressive in that its design allowed for easy movement and quick change between acts.”

     Overall, Noises Off was one of the most creative plays that Glenelg’s theater department has performed. Not only did the risks the director took pull a positive response from the audience, but the cast pulled it off hilariously. The second act had little to no speaking from the cast members and still sent audience members laughing hysterically. Sharp and her cast members never disappoint with any of their performances.

​     Though the play is over, eager audience members and those hoping to join the program should not worry. Auditions for the school’s spring musical, Young Frankenstein, will be on December 19th. More information can be found at the desk in front of Sharp’s classroom. Don’t hesitate to audition. If you loved Noises Off as much as everyone else, join the theater department this spring!