The Collins Center will be filled with slips of the tongue, double entendre and slapstick comedy as Andover High School performs "Noises Off," a 1982 farce by British playwright Michael Frayn, opening this weekend.
"Noises Off" is a play within a play, and the plotline involves the cast of a fictitious work called "Nothing On." The audience gets glimpses of the play's 10-week run, as performances get worse and worse and drama unfolds between cast members off stage.
"Noises Off" will run at Andover High, on Shawsheen Road, during May 8, 9 and 10, with a cast of nine actors.
AHS students in shop classes have constructed a massive set that rotates on a pivot point, so "Nothing On" can be watched from front and back stage. The cast is constantly popping on and off stage — going up and down stairs, through doorways and around furniture, said Susan Choquette, the show's director and AHS drama director.
"It's like a marathon. They're going in and out, up and down ... the blocking (planning the spots on stage where the actors are to deliver each line) is entwined with the dialogue," she said. "It's a great show, very fun. People are going to giggle."
J.T. Turner, a local professional actor and fight choreographer, helped Choquette block and plan some scenes for "Noises Off," including one where actors fall down a flight of stairs and flip over the back of a couch.
"The real play is about the actors putting on this play ... we only ever see Act One of 'Nothing On,' but we see it three times, at a dress rehearsal, a performance mid-run and at the end of the run. You know they're messing up by the end," Choquette said.
The AHS production of "Noises Off" is rated PG-13, Choquette said, because "Nothing On" is a bedroom farce, with characters "running in and out of bedrooms." The show contains a small bit of adult language, but the production will be "modestly done," she said.
Because it's a British play, the cast has mastered English accents for the show — from cockney to posh, depending on their character.
After doing the musical "Titanic" this fall, Choquette said she chose "Noises Off" as a change of pace, something lighter and full of humor.
"We've never done a real farce before. I want to be able to expose them to as many different types of theater here in their four years at Andover High School. This show has the physical aspect, but also the comic element," she said. "It's always good to mix it up, and look at it from an educational standpoint, to allow them to grow as actors and people."
Bring the Noises:
r Andover High School Drama Guild presents "Noises Off"
r Comedy in the style of British farce
r May 8, 9, and 10 Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
r Collins Center for the Performing Arts, Andover High School
r Tickets: $10 adults; $6 students
r Box office: 978-623-8666 or andoverdrama@yahoo.com
r Play "rated PG-13" and not recommended for youngsters
