Noises Off at Norwich Theatre Royal

On Saturday 25th May 2013 I attended the matinee performance of Noises Off at Norwich Theatre Royal. This Old Vic production is a multi-award winning backstage comedy which was touring after its triumphant and critically acclaimed sell out run in London. Hailed as one of the greatest British comedies ever written, Michael Frayn's celebrated play serves up a play within a play.

Each of the three acts of Noises Off contains a performance of the first act of a play within a play, a poor farce called Nothing On. This is the type of play in which young girls run about in their underwear, old men drop their trousers, and many doors continually bang open and shut. It is set in a delightful sixteenth century posset mill modernised by the current owners and available to let while they are abroad, the fictional playwright is appropriately named Robin Housemonger.

Act One is set at the dress rehearsal at the fictional Grand Theatre in Weston-Super-Mare, the cast are hopelessly unready, and baffled by entrances and exits, missed cues, missed lines, and bothersome props, including several plates of sardines. Act Two shows a Wednesday matinee performance one month later, at the again fictional Theatre Royal in Ashton-under-Lyne. In this act, the play is seen from backstage, providing a view that emphasises the deteriorating relationships between the cast that lead to offstage shenanigans and onstage bedlam. The play falls into disorder before the curtain falls.

In Act Three, we see a performance near the end of the ten-week run, at the still fictional Municipal Theatre in Stockton-on-Tees, when personal friction has continued to increase. The actors remain determined at all costs to cover up the mounting series of mishaps, but it is not long before the plot has to be abandoned entirely and the more coherent characters are obliged to take a lead in ad-libbing somehow towards some sort of end.

Much of the comedy emerges from the subtle variations in each version as character flaws play off each other off-stage to undermine on-stage performance, with a great deal of slapstick. The contrast between players' on-stage and off-stage personalities is also a source of comic dissonance.

There were wonderful and funny performances from Neil Pearson, Maureen Beattie, David Bark-Jones and Sasha Waddell as Norwich Theatre Royal was filled with lots of laughter. This was a very enjoyable afternoon as this clever and funny play directed by Lindsay Posner gave us numerous moments of humour which may have appeared as shambolic but were brilliantly timed. Noises Off was perfect comedy entertainment.

Kiss Me Kate at The Old Vic

On the evening of Saturday 19th January 2013 I made my way from London's West End across the River Thames to Waterloo Station and then onto The Old Vic Theatre for the evening performance of the dazzling multi award-winning classic Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate. This glittering new production, directed by Trevor Nunn, starred Christopher Dickins, David Burt, Adam Garcia, Clive Rowe and Hannah Waddingham. The Chichester Festival Theatre's 2012 revival of the show transferred to the Old Vic Theatre in November 2012, with an official opening in December. The show has received positive reviews from critics and audiences.

Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the conflict on and off-stage between Fred Graham, the show's director, producer, and star, and his leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi. A secondary romance concerns Lois Lane, the actress playing Bianca, and her gambler boyfriend, Bill, who runs afoul with some gangsters.

Kiss Me, Kate is full of wonderful songs throughout the show. The songs in Act I are "Another Op'nin', Another Show" – Hattie and Company, "Why Can't You Behave?" – Lois Lane and Bill Calhoun, "Wunderbar" – Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, "So in Love" – Lilli Vanessi, "We Open in Venice" – Fred Graham, Lilli Vanessi, Lois Lane and Bill Calhoun, "Tom, Dick or Harry" – Bianca, Lucentio, Gremio and Hortensio, "I've Come to Wive it Wealthily in Padua" – Fred Graham and The Men, "I Hate Men" – Lilli Vanessi, "Were Thine That Special Face" – Fred Graham, "We Sing of Love (Cantiamo D'Amore)" – Lois Lane, Bill Calhoun and Ensemble and "Kiss Me, Kate" – Fred Graham, Lili Vanessi and Ensemble.

In Act II the songs are Too Darn Hot" – Paul and Ensemble, "Where is the Life That Late I Led?" – Fred Graham, "Always True to You in My Fashion" – Lois Lane, "From This Moment On" – Harrison Howell and Lilli Vanessi, "Bianca" – Bill Calhoun and Company, "So in Love" (Reprise) – Fred Graham, "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" – First Gangster and Second Gangster, "I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple" – Lilli Vanessi and "Kiss Me, Kate" (Reprise = Finale) – Company.

The Old Vic was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II listed building in 1951 after it reopened.

It was also the name of a repertory company that was based at the theatre. The company formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963, under Laurence Olivier. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the South Bank, opening in 1976. It underwent complete refurbishment in 1985. In 2003 Kevin Spacey was appointed as new artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company which received considerable media attention.

It was an amazing experience to visit The Old Vic and attend such a wonderful show as Kiss Me, Kate. This Theatre is full of history and such a beautiful building and was the perfect place to enjoy such a brilliant musical. There was a capacity audience on the night who were entertained for three hours with a splendid  performance from all the cast which included lots of laughs on the way. I really enjoyed all the great songs which made this truly a night to remember.