Monday night was a complete treat – a chance to see a justly-famous work with a superb cast.  Noises Off (currently at the Old Vic) is a play which, more than once, I had been told I “had to see” and had been offered as a benchmark of achievement in farce – One Man, Two Guvnors (the recent National Theatre hit), for example, has been described as the funniest evening’s entertainment “since Noises Off“.  It is a superbly crafted piece, fiendishly clever as well as hugely entertaining –  celebrating and deconstructing farce.  A few days earlier I had seen The Artist in the cinema and, like everyone else, was completely won over by its charm.  There are similarities in the way both works use the genre they are simultaneously describing and embodying, so that we are, at all times, enjoying the piece on two levels – a cumulative effect which is extremely engaging and satisfying.  Perhaps it is simply that, having been persuaded to work that bit harder as an audience, we are determined to value the experience more highly.  Noises Off was beautifully done – the middle act was almost dance like in its grace, as well as totally ridiculous – and thoroughly, whole-heartedly enjoyable.