Noises Off
A general motif that is present
throughout the play, Noise Off, is
how the onstage characters mimic the personality of their offstage counterpart.
Michael Frayn creates a story
where each actor plays two characters. Each actor has an onstage and offstage
character. When one reads the play,
Noises Off, the reader notices the similarities between both the actors’
onstage character and offstage character. For instance, the offstage character
Brooke Ashton is just as air headed as her onstage character, Vicki. Another
prime example is the offstage character Belinda Blair. Belinda, who is an
always cheerful and reliable actress, is a perfect embodiment of her onstage
character, Flavia Brent, who is the ideal housewife. Flavia is constantly
trying to be there for her husband, Phillip, all the while trying to care for
her house.
An
important ‘tag line” for the play Noises
Off would have to be the phrase “Sardines.” The reason the phrase
“Sardines” is so important is because not only does the entire play evolve
around a character having the actual sardines, but also the phrase “Sardines”
helps keep the play going. Examples being the characters are constantly
exchanging the sardines from one character to the next; thus, the
audience/reader are ultimately forced to follow around a plate of sardines the
entire play. Wherever the sardines go, chaos is sure to follow. An example
being is when Mrs. Clackett, Dotty Otley, is on the phone, while holding the
plate of Sardines in her hand. Ultimately, Mrs. Clackett becomes tangled up in
the phone’s cord while she is talking and holding on to the plate of sardines
at the same time. The sardines become the focal point of Mrs. Clackett’s
attention, thus making her oblivious to her own actions.
Excellent point about how the personalities of the actors are eerily similar to the characters they play in "Nothing On"! That wasn't an aspect of the play I had ever thought of before, but it serves the idea that the line that divides the "real" world from the world of the play is an incredibly thin one that is all too easy to cross. One cannot perform a play without letting some aspect of his or her own life slip into the mix.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your point about how they embody their counterparts on and offstage. AND YES TIM, YES! SARDINES! That is exactly what my tag line was, except I argued that the sardines interrupted the play when they're missing or when Garry complains about how difficult they are to keep track of or even Selsdon's last line that he can never remember.
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