Motif: One motif that stood out to me was how they were
treating each show like was the rehearsal. Of course in the first scene, it truly
was a rehearsal, but for the second and third act, it wasn’t. For instance, in
the last scene, you have Gary (Roger) stumbling back and forth over his lines,
and worrying about a task that isn’t in his stage directions. Then you also
have Dotty (Miss Crokett) saying whatever the hell she feels like, then telling
Gary and Broke ( Roger and Vicki) to clean a mess, that shouldn’t be there in
the first scene. This whole play just reads like a train wreck (obviously).
Tag lines: “It’s like a battlefield out there.” On the
stage, there usually isn’t any direction – although Lloyd tires – to what the
actors are doing. It’s like they’re incapable of focusing on the task at hand.
They’re always either ignoring what Lloyd is telling them, or are missing their
cues left and right. At one point, the phone is flying across the stage, sardines
managed to get mushed, and no one’s delivering the right lines. Then off stage,
you have a completely different battlefield area. We have everyone trying to
keep selsdon away from any alcohol, Lloyd is trying to woo broke, all while
Poppy is carrying Lloyd’s child. It all seems like a HUGE mess. Everyone’s gossiping
about one another, sleeping around, and missing their damn ques. I feel like it’s
the best statement out of the entire dialogue.
I also wanted to say: Yes, I know this was a comedy.
However, reading this play really just bothered me. Maybe it’s the obsessive
person inside of me that hates it when people don’t listen, or do what they’re
told, I don’t know. But I didn’t quite enjoy this as other people did.
When you say that this play bothered you, you aren't the only one. This play really set me on edge. It didn't seem like anyone had their lives together, and all that was thrown onto a stage and forced in front of people.
ReplyDeleteAs for your tag line, I hadn't thought about that at all. That makes a lot of sense for this play because it seems like everyone is fighting to have their voice or their opinion heard about what's going on, and they're physically or emotionally battling with everyone to get it done.
While I understand your frustration with the play, I think it would be a huge disservice to deem Noises Off as reading "like a train wreck." On the contrary, Frayn carefully constructs the play in such a way that every detail must be executed perfectly in order for everything to go wrong. The chaos is a result of well-orchestrated timing brought about by the efforts of the cast and crew that chooses to perform this piece. Even when moments in the script seem especially chaotic or bothersome, readers and audiences must remember that there is a method to Frayn’s madness.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily agree that the character's treat each show like a rehearsal. They just allow their real life problems to interfere with the show, which in my opinion, is kind of brilliant on Frayn's part. No matter how professional a show/actor is it's impossible not to have some bit of yourself onstage. The difference is that these character's, who are not even close to being professional at all, let it overcome them and run the show.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love about Noises Off is that it's a farce about the deconstruction of a farce. Even though it seems like a train wreck, everything has to be exact in order for those train wrecks to occur. There's so much order behind the chaos that makes Noises Off absolutely fantastic.