Noises Off: the Ultimate “Show Must Go On”
Micah Bessette
He/Him
Media Editor
10/16/25
Sardines and chaos!Through an unlikely series of events, a dysfunctional theater troopendsup on tour with nothing and everything at stake.
From October 16ththrough October 18th, the Plymouth State theater department is putting onNoises Offby Michael Fraynin theHanaway Theatre at theSilver Center for the Arts.This play within aplay features three acts of quick banter,several future HR cases, and a set that can spin.
Act one, opening with theunder-practiced and sleep-deprived troop in the late hours of their final dress rehearsal for the playNothing On,presents a cast that is obviously unprepared to put on a show. Taylor Smith’s sassy and frustrated representation ofLloyd Dallas, the play’s director, drives the first act forward and lays the groundwork for the chaos of the rest of the play.I thoughtthe actors’ presencein this act was on point and made iteasyto suspend my disbelief.Joie Lynch, asDotty/Mrs.Clackett, played up herstage“breaks” toestablisha sharp contrast between her characters,which made iteasyto believe the overall plot.There were several times I found myselfactually stressedabouthow poorly the troop was doing, as I felt immersed in the production by theimpressiveacting.
The second act shows the backstage happenings of the troop a few months into their tour. With an extensive juggling act happening through the entire act, we seehow frantic putting on a production can really be. I wassurprisedby this act because itdidn’tfeature muchup-frontdialogue, but the actors portrayed theirfrenzyand confusion convincingly. I thoughtDaniel Sleeper, playing Garry/Roger, had excellent chemistry with the rest of hiscastmates, which helped develop the show.“Just in the read-through we were already a riot,”Sleepersaidabout the cast’s chemistry.Watching this act made me realize that you need to watch the show multiple times to understand the intricacies of everything going on.Director Jessie Chapmanagreed.“You can see it once and enjoy it andit’ssilly.But if you come back,you’llsee new things,”she said.
The third and final act continues the chaos and makes you really wonder how thetheater troop made it as far as they did. Set in the troop’s last leg of their tour, the act presents the company as an uttermess. Itconcludes with a final plot twistandending,developed by Chapman,thatis honestly more grounding than the rest of the show. The whole thingsort of feelslike a fever dream.I thought NicholasBailey, asFrederick/Philip, usedwonderful physical comedy to tie this act together.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the whole showand found myself laughing the entire time. The actors were convincing, the set design was beautiful, and thetechelements came together to create a hilarious piece. The only thing that bothered me a little was the use of fake accents.Some actors,in order toportray their characters’ poor acting abilities, used accents that sounded off.Chapman said that“not all of the actors are playing good actors,” whichwhile I think applies in some contexts, the bad accents were just distracting.
The show features jokes and bits throughout that catch you off guard in the best way. “My favorite bit is when they’re all searching through my fake boobs to try and find Brooke’s contact lens,”saidLynch.
It’sa messy production that makes it impossible to tell whether the actors are improvising or not, and I loved it. “One of the greatest things about this show is that if we mess up, no one can tell,” said Arabella Apigo, playing Poppy.
I lovedNoises Off, andI thinkthePlymouththeater departmentpicked an excellent cast for it. If youcan’tsee it three times(you probablyshould tounderstand everything going on), you would be missing outtonotat leastseeit once.