Patrons of Swine Palace’s most recent production, “Noises Off,” definitely got more than they bargained for when they realized they were watching a show about a show.
Swine Palace opened its 25th anniversary season with “Noises Off,” on Sept. 22. The show is an antic-packed comedy about a show within the actual show. Each of the three acts in the farce illustrates a different aspect of the show, from rehearsal to the actual run to closing night.
Complete with a cast of LSU School of Theatre alumni, the show will perform in the Claude L. Shaver Theatre, housed in the Music & Dramatic Arts Building, until Oct. 2.
“It’s a really funny show — it’s a lot of fun to do,” said Nathan Frizzell, a University alumnus who plays Frederick Fellowes / Philip Brent / Sheikh in “Noises Off.” “It’s challenging for an actor.”
“Noises Off” was written in 1982 by Michael Frayn. It has been nominated for numerous awards and won the 1982 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Comedy.
The show opens on the final dress rehearsal of “Nothing On.” The dysfunctional rehearsal leads to many malfunctions, leading into the second act, which gives a completely different perspective on the show.
“The rehearsal process was… intense, in a good way though,” Frizzell said. “With a show like this, with comedy in general, comedy has to be very precise. It doesn’t usually look like it, but even the slightest problem with timing can throw a whole scene off.”
Having taken three days to get through it for the first time, Frizzell refers to the second act of “Noises Off” as “the behemoth.”
Surprisingly enough, this act features the least amount of dialogue of all the acts in the show. The story in the second act is told almost completely through physical comedy, meaning it focuses on using the body to perform stunts, make faces, mime or use other devices to create humor.
With a promiscuous director caught in a love triangle between the play’s ditzy actress Brooke Ashton and assistant stage manager Poppy Norton, the cast’s jealous and vindictive actions drive the second act, leaving the audience roaring with laughter.
Another aspect of the show, not normally seen on stage, is the set transition. From Act One to Act Two, the set, which is built in three pieces, is spun around to reveal the backstage of “Nothing On,” the show within the show. The two-story set is functional, including doorways and staircases which lend to the comedic actions of the show.
“It was really hard the first couple weeks of rehearsal to rehearse without [the set],” Frizzell said. “The doors are such a huge part of the show… and we didn’t have the doors until… a couple days before we opened.”
The final act of the show finds the cast of “Nothing On” on its closing night, well-worn from the fictional ten-week run the actors performed.
Though the play has two 10-minute intermissions, it is quite lengthy for a comedy, running more than two-and-a-half hours.
Freshman Linda Johnson said she found the play hilarious, but with almost $5 worth of taxes added to student tickets, she found the price, “a bit much for a student play.”
However, other students found the laughs worth the cash.
“Oh my God, it was so funny. I couldn’t stop laughing,” said biology freshman Ashley Bowman. “There was this one older man who was laughing so hard, he had to take off his glasses to wipe the tears in his eyes.”
Tickets can be purchased online at http://theatre.lsu.edu/ or at the box office in the Music & Dramatic Arts Building.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Courtesy of Karli Henderson.

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