A philosophical burglar, a relaxation-technique enthusiast, an Arab sheik and plates of sardines all contribute to the side-splitting humor of the Loeb Mainstage's play within a play, Noises Off. Written by Michael Frayn, Noises Off is really about a second-rate theater company's attempt to stage second-rate playwright Robin House-monger's Nothing On. This HRDC production employs skillful direction and great comic talent to focus on the onstage and backstage sexual politics of a group of British has-been actors.

Noises Off

By Michael Frayn

Directed by John Claflin

At the Loeb Mainstage

Tonight at 8 p.m.

Tomorrow and Sunday at 2 and 8 p.m.

Frayn begins Noise Off brilliantly--for several minutes Heather Gunn, who plays the actress Dotty Otley, who plays housekeeper Mrs. Clackett in Nothing On, occupies the stage, nonsensically mumbling about sardines and trying to answer a telephone at the same time. It is only minutes later, with the entrance of the director of Nothing On, that the audience understands that Noise Off is about the rehearsal of another play.

In the first act, the tension between director Lloyd Dallas (Daniel Zelman) and his actors keeps the audience's interest. Dallas desperately wants to run through the dress rehearsal in order to have a good opening night, but the actors keep pausing to question the motivations of their characters. Zelman commands to them with a perfect balance of sarcasm and subtle condescension.

Most of the actors in Nothing On are so temperamental that the audience laughs as Dallas struggles hopelessly to take charge of his company. Sara Melson, who plays Brooke Ashton, who plays bimbo Vicki, stands out as the stereotypical half-brain-dead sexpot actress. Melson's over-exaggerated hand gestures, when she is Vicki, and her overly self-conscious, seductive walk as Brooke are amusing.

Early in the play, Dallas gets into a tiff with Garry Lejune (Donivan Barton), who plays Nothing On's furtive Roger Tramplemain; they disagree about why Tramplemain must complete a certain stage direction. Barton is amusing with his inarticulate show of righteous anger, but most of the laughs come from Zelman's deadpan delivery. Dallas' reaction to Tramplemain's tantrum exemplifies his feeling toward his cast: "I'm starting to know what God felt like, sitting outside in the darkness, creating the world: He was very happy that He'd taken His valium."

DESPITE Frayn's basically witty dialogue and the realistic two-story Brent summer home designed by director John Claflin, most of Act I drags. Act III, due to no fault of the actors, is also a let-down. Act II, however, fraught with fast-paced action and funny mime sequences, is definitely the most entertaining part of the show.

Timing is key in Act II. The setting is backstage during a performance, and while all the actors are running around backstage (the set from Act I having been turned around), the audience hears and glimpses the actors on the other side of the backdrop performing Nothing On. Director Claflin deserves praise for his masterly staging and for the fact that the actors are able to execute his plan perfectly. Much of this act is funny because characters enter at inopportune moments and misinterpret the action they see; without exactly timed entrances and exits, this act would not work. Despite obviously meticulous planning, Claflin's actors are able to deceive the audience into believing that there is complete chaos going on behind the sets of Nothing On.

Lovers' quarrels provide the root of the bedlam backstage in Act II. Lejune is madly in love with Otley and is angry, suspecting that she and the bumbling Frederick Fellowes (Steve Petersen) are having an affair. Barton's Lejune storms around backstage begging Gunn's Otley to take him back, yelling at her for having an affair and plotting to kill Steve Petersen, who wonderfully portrays the innocent Fellowes.

After the belly-bursting laughter of Act II, Act III pales by comparison. While there are some interesting moments as Dallas' cast stumbles through one mistake after another, desperately trying to get back to the script, most of the bumbling becomes tedious.

Overall, the actors in Noises Off do a fine job with what is an occasionally incoherent script. The comic talents of most of the cast combined with the truly funny dialogue make for an enjoyable evening.