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Theatre UAB will present “Noises Off,” called “the funniest farce ever written,” with performances Feb. 23-27 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Theatre UAB is the performance company of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre.
The play follows a manic menagerie of itinerant actors as they rehearse a flop called “Nothing On.” Set to open the next day, the play is beset by misadventure. As time gets critical, tempers flare, patience disappears and tensions rise. As in any comedic catastrophe, the worst human impulses take center stage in this theatrical collapse. Slamming doors, on- and off-stage intrigue, and an errant herring all figure in the plot of this hilarious and classically comic play. “Noises Off” is written by Michael Frayn and directed by Dennis McLernon. This play contains adult language.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23-26 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 27, in UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Sirote Theatre. General admission tickets are $12 and $15, $6 for students, and $10 for UAB employees and senior citizens. For tickets, call the ASC Box Office at 205-975-2787 or visit AlysStephens.org.
With the year we have had, we need a little bit of buffoonery in our lives, says student assistant director R’Kaisa Mitchell of Birmingham.
“Noises Off” is a farce comedy based in the tradition of the Comedia Dell’Arte, an Italian form of comedy built around physical humor and improvisational skills. The play is grounded in physical comedy, witty dialogue, comedic sexual situations and innuendo, mistaken identity, crossed purposes, and slapstick violence. Mitchell says the production faces a unique challenge: making something appear imperfect and chaotic, while doing so with precision.
“It demands tremendous physical and vocal commitment, extreme concentration, and unbounded energy,” Mitchell said. “The characters are exaggerated stereotypes/archetypes with big personalities, big flaws and all making big mistakes. Our student actors were presented with as great a physical and comedic challenge as they may have encountered in their young careers.”
The nine-member cast, who between them will portray 16 characters, is Bailey Dumlao of Germantown, Tennessee; Briana Lenè Scott of Center Point, Alabama; Søren Klinger of Montgomery, Alabama; Emma Chippindale of Orlando, Florida; Kirk Kirkpatrick of Birmingham; Anna Frey of Oneonta, Alabama; Ian Black of Sylva, North Carolina; Matias Dupree of Mobile, Alabama; and Isabel Behr of Nashville, Tennessee.
Stage management for the production is by Juliette Sosa Valle of Granger, Iowa, with assistant stage managers Bunni Lerille of Foley, Alabama, and Michael Mercado of Killen, Alabama.
Event staff and attendees are required to wear masks indoors on campus regardless of vaccination status, as well as maintain proper distancing while on UAB’s campus, including at events.
Safety is UAB’s priority. The pandemic is a fluid situation that UAB is monitoring, in consultation with infectious disease and public health experts; events will be subject to change based on the latest COVID-19 safety guidelines.