See me in the funniest play ever written

9:46am Friday 26th September 2008

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TWENTY years ago, I went to see a play at the Savoy Theatre in London that made me laugh so much that my ribs ached.

I am not prone to find farces that funny usually, preferring comedy of a subtler kind, so I was astonished to be rendered helpless by a play that involves the performance of a farce.

But that is the difference. Noises Off is a comedy about a company of actors performing precisely the kind of farce that I struggle to find mirth inducing.

When I saw it, I marvelled at the staging of the tricky second act in which we, the audience, are watching the backstage chaos when the relationships between the actors have deteriorated, with devastating effect on the performance of the play, which we can hear and partly see taking place on the other side of the set.

There are critical points at which the on and offstage plays must dovetail seamlessly in order to achieve author Michael Frayn’s intended comedic affect.

Twenty years later, and I am appearing in the revival that started at the National Theatre and is now touring the UK. It is very gratifying that audiences today find the play every bit as funny as I did all those years ago.

The part of the sardine-obsessed charlady is now in the hands of Maggie Steed, an actress I have long admired since I saw her in the TV series Shine on Harvey Moon, and now to be seen in Jam and Jerusalem. Ben Hull of Hollyoaks fame is the supercharged engine of the play as the actor entrusted with the role of the estate agent trying to organise a tryst with a young bimbo in a house that his agency is selling.

Should you be anxious to see your weekly columnist portraying an actor whose familiarity with the play is slightly less strong than his desire to disappear somewhere with a bottle of whisky, then Noises Off will be at the Oxford Playhouse from September 30 to October 4.

If you have seen the play before, you will know how funny it is; and this new production has breathed new life into it. If you haven’t seen it before, then I would urge you not to miss this opportunity because it is quite simply the funniest play ever written. A big statement, but I defy you to contradict me.