This fall, the cast and crew of the fall play took on the challenging and eccentric production of Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off.” A three-act farcical play, the story follows a group of unprofessional actors putting on a comedic show, “Nothing On,” with an ill-tempered director as they face catastrophes and conflicts on and off stage. Disastrous, chaotic and absolutely hilarious, this show portrays scandals from romantic entanglements to drinking problems, cleverly diving into themes of fragility and theatrical frenzy through this melodrama.
Similar to prior Peddie’s Fall Plays, “Noises Off” featured a relatively small cast of talented actors: Samantha Forte ’27 as Dotty Otley, Myles Onion ’27 as Garry Lejeune, Hannah Fahmy ’27 as Brooke Ashton, Jake Mileski ’26 as Frederick Fellows, Hajarah Haruna ’28 as Belinda Blair, and Sawyer Rolontz ’26 as Selsdon Mowbray. It also included essential parts of theater production – the director and stage managers: Bryan Cheng ’26 as the director Lloyd Dallas, Lincoln Boone ’26 as the stage manager Tim Allgood, and Sadie Wynne ’28 as the assistant stage manager Poppy Norton-Taylor.
While the production resulted in an uproar of praise and compliments, the process to reach this success was not easy and was full of challenges. From memorizing long dialogues to remembering complicated stage directions, each member of the cast was tested with a myriad of obstacles. Actors had to practice running up and down staircases while performing their lines, go through quick changes between dialogues, and even learn to switch accents between their characters.
Additionally, the show featured stunts and elaborate moments. Myles Onion ’27, who played Garry Lejeune, had to roll down a staircase in Act 3; Hannah Fahmy ’26, who performed as Brooke Ashton, had to fall over a couch after banging her head against a door. Although the behind the scenes process was demanding and eventful, each actor pushed through respective challenges through continuous hard work, learning choreographies attentively and practicing their parts both during and outside of rehearsals. As a result of their perseverance, the final production of “Noises Off” was a remarkable success.
Each night of the performance was filled with laughter, applause and eruptive cheers. Praise and amazement sparked everywhere in the Peddie community, as audience members enjoyed the hilarious aspects and scandalous scenes of the show. The cast loved the production, as well. “My favourite part of the show is the end of Act 3 when the three burglars come on stage,” Hannah Fahmy ’27, expressed “The reaction of the audience was priceless each night!.”
One comedic moment after another, the theater was constantly left with bursting laughter or surprised gasps throughout the play. Seems like the jokes did not just affect the audience but also the actors themselves. Fahmy recalled attempting to hold in her laughter when the audience reacted or whenever she went through intentional mishaps. “I have always had trouble with smiling on stage, but doing this show really challenged my ability to keep it together,” she mentioned.
The performance would not truly be a success without a key element of the play – the set. To portray scenes of both on and off stage, the set for “Noises Off,” designed by Mr. Emmett Grosland, was created with sections of a house set that could be flipped around to show the back of a theatrical set, which were moved and changed between acts. Pushing towards environmental sustainability, parts of the set were reused for the Freshman Musical, “Newsies,” and will later be repainted and reutilized for the Winter Musical, “Mamma Mia,” as well as the Spring Play, “Romeo & Juliet.”
Ultimately, thanks to the hard work of the cast, production and set crew, “Noises Off” was a sensational hit.
At the end of the day, life is just “doors and sardines,” isn’t it?
