Henry Lewis (3)

This play tries to be Noises Off, but fails to make the grade. It substitutes zany antics for attempts at real humor, hiding the fact that there really is no plot, no stakes, nothing but a play deliberately put on badly by the cast and crew of a fictional theatre. It is confusing to read, because the characters have the names of the "actors" in the play, but are always addressed by the name of the "characters" in the play, so it is difficult staying on top of the plot. They never interact with each other as the actors putting on the play, but only as the characters in the play. I suspect this play runs on sight gags and the humor of broken things, which is why it falls flat in the reading.… (mer)