About Noises Off
Play suitability guidelines: The majority of the comedy stems from moments of comic violence and suggestive humor (innuendo). It is suitable for middle school and teenagers who are able to handle these elements.
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"The most dexterously realized comedy ever about putting on a comedy. A spectacularly funny, peerless backstage farce. This dizzy, well-known romp is festival of delirium." - The New York Times
What’s a farce? Noises Off is a superb example:a high-energy comedic romp involving highly improbable events, impeccable timing, misunderstandings and mistaken identities.
"Noises Off" plot summary:
Noises Off is Frayn’s enduringly uproarious depiction of what goeson (and what goes wrong) backstage during a theatrical performance.The play chronicles the rocky final dress rehearsal and subsequentdisastrous performances of a farce called Nothing On. As thecast and crew of a third-rate touring company attempt to negotiatethe farcical demands of the play- within-the-play—fast entrancesand exits, cases of mistaken identity, clothing quickly doffed anddonned—a hilarious parade of madcap backstage mishaps threatensto derail the proceedings altogether. Leading actress Dotty Otley can’tremember her blocking. The whiskey-slinging elder statesman SelsdonMowbray is constantly disappearing. Ingenue Brooke Ashton keepslosing her contact lenses, newbie Frederick Fellowes just wants toknow his motivation, and backstage love triangles threaten to becomelove trapezoids (which threaten to come to blows).A feat of precise timing and comic agility, Noises Off manages to serveas both a send-up of the modern sex farce and a valentine to the form,mocking its triviality while simultaneously delivering an extremelywell-crafted example of the genre. The New York Times has calledthe play “the most dexterously realized comedy ever about puttingon a comedy.” It is also one of the most-produced. It premiered in1982 at London’s Lyric Theatre and quickly transferred to the WestEnd, where it ran until 1987 with five successive casts, winning Fraynthe Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Meanwhile, in1983 the play opened in the U.S. to popular and critical acclaim onBroadway, where it earned a Tony® nomination for Best Play. In theensuing decades, it has been translated into dozens of languages andrevived throughout the world, becoming a staple of the contemporarytheatre repertoire.
"Nothing On" (the play-within-the-play) summary:
Nothing On, the play within Noises Off, is a standard silly British bedroom farce. Roger Tramplemain, the estate agent in charge of renting the Brent’s lovely country house, has invited Vicki for a romantic rendezvous. Roger Tramplemain claims that the house is his own and believes that it will be empty. Whoops – it is anything but! Mrs. Clackett, the housekeeper, is planning to spend her after noon off at the house relaxing, eating sardines and watching television. Then, the owners, Philip and Flavia Brent, secretly return to have their own mischievous romantic rendezvous – they’re not supposed to be in the country because they are avoiding paying their taxes. The two couples narrowly miss running into each other several times. The final moments reveal even more surprise guests:an elderly burglar and a wealthy Sheikh who is interested in renting the property. Dare we say it? Hilarity ensues! Much of the humor of Nothing On is sparked by mistaken identities, the slamming of doors, and innuendo.
What’s a farce? Noises Off is a superb example:a high-energy comedic romp involving highly improbable events, impeccable timing, misunderstandings and mistaken identities.
"Noises Off" plot summary:
Noises Off is Frayn’s enduringly uproarious depiction of what goeson (and what goes wrong) backstage during a theatrical performance.The play chronicles the rocky final dress rehearsal and subsequentdisastrous performances of a farce called Nothing On. As thecast and crew of a third-rate touring company attempt to negotiatethe farcical demands of the play- within-the-play—fast entrancesand exits, cases of mistaken identity, clothing quickly doffed anddonned—a hilarious parade of madcap backstage mishaps threatensto derail the proceedings altogether. Leading actress Dotty Otley can’tremember her blocking. The whiskey-slinging elder statesman SelsdonMowbray is constantly disappearing. Ingenue Brooke Ashton keepslosing her contact lenses, newbie Frederick Fellowes just wants toknow his motivation, and backstage love triangles threaten to becomelove trapezoids (which threaten to come to blows).A feat of precise timing and comic agility, Noises Off manages to serveas both a send-up of the modern sex farce and a valentine to the form,mocking its triviality while simultaneously delivering an extremelywell-crafted example of the genre. The New York Times has calledthe play “the most dexterously realized comedy ever about puttingon a comedy.” It is also one of the most-produced. It premiered in1982 at London’s Lyric Theatre and quickly transferred to the WestEnd, where it ran until 1987 with five successive casts, winning Fraynthe Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Meanwhile, in1983 the play opened in the U.S. to popular and critical acclaim onBroadway, where it earned a Tony® nomination for Best Play. In theensuing decades, it has been translated into dozens of languages andrevived throughout the world, becoming a staple of the contemporarytheatre repertoire.
"Nothing On" (the play-within-the-play) summary:
Nothing On, the play within Noises Off, is a standard silly British bedroom farce. Roger Tramplemain, the estate agent in charge of renting the Brent’s lovely country house, has invited Vicki for a romantic rendezvous. Roger Tramplemain claims that the house is his own and believes that it will be empty. Whoops – it is anything but! Mrs. Clackett, the housekeeper, is planning to spend her after noon off at the house relaxing, eating sardines and watching television. Then, the owners, Philip and Flavia Brent, secretly return to have their own mischievous romantic rendezvous – they’re not supposed to be in the country because they are avoiding paying their taxes. The two couples narrowly miss running into each other several times. The final moments reveal even more surprise guests:an elderly burglar and a wealthy Sheikh who is interested in renting the property. Dare we say it? Hilarity ensues! Much of the humor of Nothing On is sparked by mistaken identities, the slamming of doors, and innuendo.