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:

14 August 2003

Note: The following review dates from February 2002 and an earlier touring stop for this production.

This National Theatre revival of Noises Off, Michael Frayn's hilarious peek at the backstage shenanigans of a touring theatre company, heads back to the regions after going down a storm in the West End. We follow the actors, the director and behind the scenes staff of a farce called "Nothing On".

The cast of the 'play within a play' are eccentric to say the least. There's the actress with big ambitions and demands to match, Dotty Otley (Cheryl Campbell); the much put-upon director who calls everyone "love", Lloyd Dallas (Philip Franks), and a drunken actor with very few lines, Selsdon Mowbray (Sylvester McCoy). These and other zany characters struggle to keep their dignity intact and their trousers on.

As Dallas directs from the stalls, Selsdon's drunken walkabouts bring him into the auditorium and right on top of the thrilled audien...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.122.68.80) - 6 September 2003:

Wonderful. Gets better each time I see it. Technically superb, well acted and laugh out loud- hilarious. JUST GO! ...

Read more and add your own review