A motif that Michael
Frayn uses in Noises Off is
self-centered delusions. Each character in Noises
Off is concerned with only his or her own desires and needs. The characters
are all narcissistic and only care about what they want for themselves. Their self-centered
motives cause a lot of problems in the world of the play, especially in regards
to the production which they are trying to put on. The characters are so
concerned with themselves and wrapped up in their own worlds that none of them
are willing to go the extra mile and put in the effort necessary to make the
play work. Instead, the characters impede the play’s progress by putting their individual
needs first. The selfish attitudes of the characters are made obvious to the audience
and seen clearly throughout the play. Selsdon is willing to miss his cue in
order to continue his search for the bottle of whiskey, and in another similar
instance Lloyd is more concerned with getting Brooke flowers than with helping
the play run smoothly. At one point, Garry is swinging an axe at Frederick,
which would clearly be detrimental to the play’s outcome. However, no one seems
to actually care about the play more than their own personal problems. This
continues throughout the entirety of the play, while the play within the play
becomes worse and worse because of it.
A good tagline for this
show would be “One moment they’re kicking you to death, next moment they expect
you to come waltzing in with more sardines.” I think this line really explains
the complete and utter chaos that is prominent throughout the play. To me it
explains that there’s more going on than just the play that is being put on. It
shows that things simply cannot be done correctly because of all the other
nonsense that is going on with all the players. Even the fact that Mrs.
Clackett, played by Dotty, is the one saying this ad-lib line is surprisingly appropriate.
Dotty is the one who wants the show put on in the first place, and even she
cannot overlook the developments that have happened between the players. All of
the characters are so lost within themselves that they can’t even make the play
what it is supposed to be. The entirety of the show consists of one big jumbled
mess, and this line shows that quite well.
I definitely agree there is a lot of chaos and people out of control to essentially let the play "fall apart". I suppose if I stepped into the mind set of what Dr. Fletcher said, maybe you shouldn't just simplify it to all the characters have self-centered motives. Only meaning that we know this happens in a LOT of plays and to kind of find another wording as to what you mean.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of "Self-centered Delusions", because nearly every character is so self-centered, that you almost miss it. However, it seems almost to general. After all this is a play about actors and lets admit it most actors (including myself who is more of a literature nerd) are self centered. Yet, Frayn allowed for a clear poking fun at it. Who doesn't love meta theatre?
ReplyDeleteAlso your tagline seems so perfect and surreal, I almost forgot it was an actual line...great choice.