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. Website
Absolutely hilarious.Loved every minute.
The cast were stunning and the slapstick had me in tears of laughter.
I recommend it to anyone who wants to laugh and be entertained. It was much much funnier than the press reviews indicated. I can't believe Stones in his pockets gets bracketed in the same category.
This truly is a great comedy play and I
can't wait to see it again. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
20 Jan 02
I saw this play again yesterday and I had forgotten just how funny it was. Myself and rest of the audience were in stitches. Last time I saw it was on tour at a matinee, when the line about the OAPs in the audience went down very well. If you are feeling down, go and see it, unless you have absolutely no sense of humour you will feel much better afterwards. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
16 Jan 02
It never really lived up to my expectations. It's one of my favourite plays and i really enjoyed the movie with Michael Caine and Carol Burnett much more. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
30 Dec 01
Slick, slick,slick. That is the least you can say about this stunning piece of theatre. I would have given five stars but for two small quibbles. First, the use of a handheld microphone in act 1 drew my attention from the play, I would have preferred a more discreet lapel mic (personal quibble I know). The second is from my experiences putting this play on with an amateur group. We went to a lot of trouble constructing a two-storey set on wheels, which we turned twice. The first, behind tabs, the second in full view of the audience. We always got a round of applause. Whilst I know this set wasn't designed to be turned, I am sure there was some potential to do the act 2 / act 3 change in front of the audience. Instead we got a curtain, which, whilst it was a very nice curtain was not as entertaing as seeing the set change before our eyes. Having said that, it was still one of the best pieces of theatre in London! - USER: Whatsonstage.com
30 Nov 01
Slapstick humour not to everone's taste but production works well and acting is enthusiastic - USER: Whatsonstage.com
23 Nov 01
WONDERFUL, HILARIOUS, GO GO O... - USER: Whatsonstage.com
08 Nov 01
I have never laughed as much in a theatre as I did during this hilarious play. The acting, timing and staging were faultless. See it. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
28 Oct 01
Never seen so many people in an audience weeping with laughter; absolutely wonderful. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
14 Oct 01
We all know that its an extremely well written and tight piece of farce. We all know that the first act is only a set up for the next two (although I wager those "am-dram"-ers in the audience get the chuckle muscles going early). What sets this production apart is the absolutely precise chereography that packs the evening, particularly the slick-as-a-well-buttered-ice-rink second act. From curtain up to curtain failure, you won't find movement as breath-taking as this at Sadlers Wells.
The performances are very strong. Im a big fan of Chris Langham and he doesn't dissapoint (on a par with David Hyde Pierce for sheer timing) but Peter Egan and Stephen Mangan are also on top form.
But its the technical crew which you can't see (as opposed to the technical crew that you can) which really star here. The kitch, reversible, destructing set, the spot on lighting changes, the precision of the entrances and exits (the real stage manager must be have a nightmare back there), the accompianing bangs and shouts, all exactly timed. Its a measure of the production's precision that when something finally did go wrong (and its a difficult challenge to spot anything) it was two lines from the end of the play as one actor inadvertantly stepped on another.
There is no fat on Fryans script and Sans has realised that nothing can be lost in the direction either. Every single prop, line, door, article of clothing and sardine gets as much comic milage as is inhumanly possible. Which is why I stood at the end of an exhausting evening for all concerned to applaud something as well tuned as a new Ferrari. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
03 Oct 01
If your idea of comedy is to laugh at people with trousers around their ankles,or caught in comedic sexual positions,then this is the show for you.Add a scantily clad young woman,rushing about the stage and you have a typical farce,beloved of many.
If you are a devotee of the above,then you will thoroughly enjoy your night.
The cast are excellent and the reversible set provides a new dimension
for comic mistimings
Act Three heightens the physical comedy
and the audience loved every moment(as did I on a few occaisions)
So ...go,if you enjoy slapstick comedy
If ,like me,this is not your cup of tea
keep your trousers up and avoid sardines - USER: Whatsonstage.com
Opened 27 Apr 1928. Used as a cinema for a while, returned to theatre in 1929. 1232 seats. Member of the Society of London Theatre. New home of the Peter Hall Company from 1998. An [ATG] member.
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