When Michael Frayn wrote “Noises Off,” his guiding question surely must have been: How can I make theatergoers laugh long and laugh hard? The answer is the play itself, which is one of the uncontested comedy stage hits of the late 20th century. The University of Maine School of the Performing Arts and Maine Masque are performing a laugh-heavy production of “Noises Off” through next weekend.

Frayn, a theater insider, wittily follows the backstage soap-opera loopiness of a second-rate British theater troupe through final rehearsals and the run of a third-rate comedy called “Nothing On.” With a stageful of doors (some of which, naturally, stick) and countless plates of slippery sardines, the play the real audience observes, both backstage and onstage, is a combination of “Monty Python,” “Peyton Place” and “A Comedy of Errors.”

While Friday’s opening night performance at UM was clunky in spots and challenging because of gummy accents and erratic volume from the actors, the show was still very funny. That’s a testament to the delicate direction of Sandra Hardy, who knows how to choreograph a joke for optimum effect.

When the humor worked less effectively, it was almost always because the actors were mugging or, worse, leaving behind the realm of the believable and adopting a more cartoonish approach to the language. That was sometimes true of Jasmine Ireland, as Belinda, Tim Johnston, as Lloyd, and Rick Solomon, as Selsdon. While they all are clearly talented actors, they slid too easily out of British reserve and into an American sit-com. They still got the laughs – and often deservedly – but their performances struck me as somewhat overdone.

Those actors who employed more subtlety – Dominick Varney, as the jealous lover Garry, Nathan Dore, as the needy Freddy, and Brianne Beck, who, even with a maddeningly muddled accent, gave a very assured performance as a has-been TV star, and Hannah J. Barth, as the whirling stage manager – seemed to me to come closer to the spirit of Frayn’s brilliance, which finds a hold-your-breath balance between restraint and release.

Fine performances also were given by Briana Geary, as a bimbo who regularly loses her contact lens, Matt Hurley, as a the fix-it-all company manager at the end of his rope, and Jeremy A. Towle, who makes a sprightly cameo as the dresser.

A sturdy revolving set, designed by David Adkins, offered tremendous support to this athletic cast, as did the support teams in charge of sound, lights and costumes. Surely, stage manager Michelle “Sparky” McCann earned her middle name on this quick-paced show.

In the last decade or so, I have seen several productions of “Noises Off,” including one Sandra Hardy staged at UM back in 1990. What has always been true is that I laugh long and laugh hard. The Maine Masque production accomplished that result, also, because these student actors understand that comedy is painstakingly intricate and difficult work. It’s hard to make a show like this look easy, but this cast largely displayed bright ensemble strength – flexing its actorly muscles as the rest of us laughed along.

The School of the Performing Arts and Maine Masque will present “Noises Off” 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 and 15, and 2 p.m. Dec. 16 in Hauck Auditorium at the University of Maine. For tickets, call 581-1755.