Noises Off

Synopsis

It's after midnight and Garry, Frederick, Belinda and Brooke, hapless actors rehearsing the trouser-dropping farce, Nothing On, are confused. Should Dotty be holding the newspaper or the sardines? Should there even be sardines? What's gone wrong with all the door handles? And where the hell is Selsdon Mowbray? A month later the troupe hits Goole, and tempers are fraying, hearts are breaking and the riotous fun on-stage is paralleled only by volcanic excitements off-stage. But will the crises turn the comedy into a catastrophe? Can the show go on? Everything desperate director Lloyd Dallas does to make things better, just makes things a little worse.

Our Review:

Sophie Bush - 14 May 2013

Michael Frayn’s Noises Off is a masterpiece of exquisitely imagined and expertly crafted comedy. Its first act is set during the technical rehearsal of a dreadfully written and poorly produced farce; its second, back stage during a middle of tour performance; and its third seen from the perspective of the audience on the final disastrous night: this is backstage comedy at its best.

The play is achingly funny, eliciting a level of laughter more common to stand-up comedy than theatre, but a number of factors elevate Frayn’s writing above the level of most farces. His characters are rich and clearly drawn, not to mention fully inhabited by Lindsay Posner’s exceptional cast. Everyone pulls their weight in this respect, but there are particularly memorable performances from Neil Pearson, as the play’s world-weary director; Sasha Waddell, as the one capable cast member desperately trying to hold everything together; and David Bark-Jones, whose...

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