For a fast-moving ‘Noises Off ,’ set designers used every inch of the stage

For a fast-moving ‘Noises Off ,’ set designers used every inch of the stage

By
Terry Byrne, Globe correspondent
Updated November 14, 2024

The Lyric Stage set for the comedy “Noises Off” includes two stories, seven rooms, eight doors, a window characters step through, and a staircase. As if that weren’t complicated enough, the set rotates to expose the backstage shenanigans underway while a British company of second-rate actors attempts to stage a dated sex farce.

Divided into three acts, with just one intermission and a pause, Michael Frayn’s 1982 spoof and homage to the zany world of theater unfolds with fast-paced physical comedy. Act I follows a disaster-filled dress rehearsal; in Act ll, the set rotates, exposing the backstage area where, after month-long run, the actors’ relationships are fraying; and in Act III, we watch the play – now coming apart at the seams – from the audience’s perspective.

“The play explodes with mayhem, humor, and near misses,” says set designer Erik Diaz, “and staging it in the intimate confines of the Lyric Stage really makes the audience feel like they are practically part of the chaos and gives the play the treatment it deserves.”

Of course, the intimate confines of the Lyric Stage are a double-edged sword. “It’s a bit of a math problem,” says Diaz. “We work with perspective and foreshortening, because we want the rooms to feel true and accurate and deep while accommodating the dimensions of the Lyric’s thrust stage.”

To add to the complexity of the math problem, the two-story set must rotate to provide the backstage access. The intermission between Acts I and II allows plenty of time to pull the stage apart into two vertical halves, move one forward and rotate it, followed by the second. The break between Acts II and III is just a pause, so this rotation must move quickly.

“We’re dealing with fractions of inches,” says Diaz, “but we are focused on the crew feeling confident and safe with the change.”

Award-winning director Ilyse Robbins, who began her career as performer and choreographer, describes the show, particularly Act II, as a ballet.

“We use the words of the play as if they are music, and choreograph the actors’ moves in time to that rhythm,” she says.

During a recent rehearsal, Robbins reran a scene several times to make sure the actors had the rhythm and felt comfortable with the pace, even as props were tossed, clothes were donned or discarded, and doors were slammed. In trying several different versions of a particular moment, Robbins slowed it down to what looked almost like a dance combination.

“I’m a strong director with a choreographer’s brain,” she says with a laugh. “But I know this theater so well. I know how to work with the diagonals and the stage angles to move the ensemble[of nine actors] around the stage to draw the audience to the most important action without blocking anyone else, or limiting the audience’s view.”

Diaz says Robbins’s choreographic approach informed details of his design.

“The door slams are an integral part of the comedy,” he says, “and the actors’ ability to traverse the set quickly and easily keeps the pace quick. There’s no room for dead air. All of that figures into my set calculations.”

Robbins, he says, “is building a production with dynamic and fluid motion throughout.”

“Although farce often moves at a fast clip, the beauty of the script is the character development, “says Robbins. “I keep reminding the actors that they don’t need to be louder, faster, funnier; they need to execute the comedy with intention, slowing down to get their inner tempo, making sure they are listening to their scene partner. We also need to finesse the difference in tempo between the actors offstage and the characters they play when they are on.”

Playwright Frayn’s love for the theater, including all of the backstage mayhem audiences never see, is all part of the fun.

“This play has layers and layers of complexity, with a different rhythm for each act,” Robbins says. “The first act functions as a straightforward comedy, the second as a comedy with a farce tucked inside it and the third is a farce with a comedy tucked inside.

“I love the fact that [Lyric artistic director] Courtney [O’Connor] chose ‘Noises Off’ as the theater’s alternative holiday show,” says Robbins. “I’m dedicating this production to the memory of Spiro Veloudos, who gave me my first professional theater job, and Sarah deLima, whose performance as Dotty Otley [in the Lyric’s 2004 production] still inspires me.”

But after all the hard work behind the scenes, she says she hopes audiences will relish two hours of pure joy at the theater.