Lesli Margherita Photo by Marc J Wrzesinski

Each of three segments is entitled Act One. We quickly learn that the play within the play, Nothing on, is a slapstick sexual farce. Sardines come and go only to reappear multiple times. Scenic designers Sotirios Livaditis and Todd Rosenthal supply a visually resplendent two-tiered interior structure within the Grand Theatre in Weston-super-Mare. Here, the cast attempts a dress rehearsal, but nothing works smoothy. People miss entrances and, for the most part, muff cues. This, of course, drives director Lloyd Dallas (Geoff Packard) out of his mind. All of this occurs in England and the play was first produced there in 1982.

After intermission, the stage revolves to reveal the backstage portion of Theatre Royal, Goole. No one gets along. If there is a star amongst this assemblage of superior actors, it is Lesli Margherita, who plays Dotty. Dotty has invested in the show and attempts to make it happen. Margherita as Dotty, oftentimes facing directly at the BSC audience, is malleable, outrageous, and also, somehow, warm. Dotty is stupendously congenial, which is hard to achieve. She and others limbo or crawl or crouch or shimmy as they move from one side of the stage to the other. If they stood straight up, the patrons watching Nothing On would see them. This section of the production is dizzying but also wonderfully contagious and only a few skeptical few people could avoid the lure of sight-gag comedy. Costume designer Izumi Inaba comes up with the snappy wardrobe choices for the cast .

The shorter, final "act" of the presentation finds Belinda Blair (Erin Davie), wife of hapless Frederick Fellowes (James Joseph O'Neil), trying to facilitate an end-of-run performance. Keep your eye peeled for laughable Selsdon Mowbray (Orville Mendoza), an aging actor who is not often sober and a man who makes things difficult for everybody. It is also difficult not to notice Brooke Ashton (Jennifer Sánchez), who is new to the stage and cannot keep her contact lenses in her eyes.

These finely tuned actors (all of whom make debuts at Barrington Stage) play off one another precisely. They capitalize on each and every comic opportunity by consistently overacting–welcome, given the material–and pushing forward. Hence, the audience is treated to a variety of stunts, flops, falls, and inventive physical performance. All is audacious and each facial grimace is a treat. Look for door slams, crackling windows, tax issues, and much more. By the way, sardines are pretty much all over the place, quite literally.

If this sounds chaotic, well, that's true, but this production features pinpoint timing that is a product of diligent, specific rehearsal. Perhaps the actors preparing to present the inner play actually mean well but cannot get anything straight. Misunderstanding and misconstruing lead to a failure of interpretation. Thus, disaster could be imminent at any time. The errors, however, are nothing short of human, so many of them lead to ludicrous circumstances. Certain individuals think they know what goes on, where to go, but they do not.

This production evidences a terrific script and top notch performances. Director Gordon Greenberg has acknowledged just how challenging the play is to coordinate. He succeeds by paying close attention to detail. Each physical maneuver counts and he encourages actors to grab and then yield the spotlight within the context of an exhausting show, one which is draining. Speaking of direction, imagine how Nothing On director Lloyd Dallas feels when he checks in, a month later, on what he has facilitated. He has moved along to work on a production of Richard III elsewhere but comes back to find the bizarre evolution of Nothing On a month after he thought he'd readied the play for performance.

Michael Frayn, a London native, has written many plays, the most famous of which might be Copenhagen. It is an intense drama about the time when two physicists met in 1941. That work received a Best Play Tony Award. Frayn is a playwright who demonstrates wide-spanning range and he shows it with Noises Off as this talented ensemble of actors portray some self-important people who are temperamental but wildly amusing as well.

Noises Off runs through September 6, 2026, at Barrington Stage Company, 30 Union St., Pittsfield MA. For tickets and information, please call 413-242-6411 or visit barringtonstageco.org.