Noises Off

Synopsis

Lindsay Posner directs a new production of Michael Frayn's irresistible, multi-award-winning backstage comedy Noises Off.

Enjoyed by millions of people worldwide since it premiered in 1982, Noises Off is hailed as one of the greatest British comedies ever written.

The cast for Noises off at the Old Vic  includes Celia Imrie, Janie Dee, Aisling Loftus, Jonathan Coy, Robert Glenister and Jamie Glover.

Winner of both Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Comedy, Noises Off serves up a riotous double bill - a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed it follows the backstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through rehearsals to a shambolic first night and a final disastrous performance.

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Our Review:

14 December 2011

Short of natural disaster or nuclear holocaust, nothing can derail Michael Frayn’s masterclass in farce. Noises Off is so fine-tuned that, even just short of its absolute finest form, as in Lindsay Posner’s nonetheless excellent Old Vic production, it delivers a laugh almost every 30 seconds. There isn’t a stand-up comedian on the planet that can match that for two and a half hours.

Farce usually takes time to wind itself up into orchestrated meltdown. Frayn’s masterstroke is to make his set-up a farce in its own right, namely Nothing On, a fictional stinker of a play chock full of sardines, fake Sheikhs and skimpies.

We see its hapless touring production from three perspectives: on its dress rehearsal the day before opening night, behind the scenes in Ashton-under-Lyne a month on, and, finally, it’s last mangled performance in Stockton-on-Tees. Frayn’s skill is such that the jokes in the first...

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Latest User Review

Paul Wallis - 26 February 2012:

I hadn't realised it was basically the same production as the one staged a fw years back in London. That said, it was a wonderfully enjoyable evening - the whole cast was on good form and I laughed so much it hurt. Fabulous :-)...

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