‘NOISES OFF’ (1982) won Michael Frayn an Evening Standard Award for
“Best Comedy of the Year” and ran for four years in the West End.
New York Time Out: “The funniest comedy ever written.”
Guardian: “A pulverisingly funny play.”
Daily Telegraph: “ High with happiness and physically weak with laughter.”
Sunday Telegraph: “Comic delirium that rocks the house!”
Daily Express: “If you haven’t seen it, go. If you have, go again.”
We first performed this play 10 years ago and it doesn’t get any easier!
We even have three of the original cast in the same roles, which is a great
help, although I think they would all agree that 10 years does nothing to
improve one’s ability to rush in and out of doors and remember a chaotic
sequence of actions!
ACT ONE opens on a third-rate farce, ’Nothing On’, but we soon realize we
are watching a rehearsal.
ACT TWO turns the set a complete 180° - no mean feat in our theatre,
although, thanks to our magnificent set builders, this manoeuvre is now a
piece of cake and the whole thing a lot less likely to fall apart. We are
now behind the scenes during a performance a month into the run.
ACT THREE (with the set turned again to face the audience) is a later
performance after a gruelling tour, when tempers and relationships have
reached breaking point.
Whatever happens, we can guarantee you’ll see a different show every
night and go home aching with laughter—especially if you’ve ever had
anything to do with amateur dramatics. We take comfort from the
knowledge that this play was performed in Prague for some ten years
without Act Three and nobody noticed until the writer arrived and
pointed it out to them. We may not get it exactly right but at least we’re
doing all three Acts!
If the cast look pretty wrecked by the final curtain, that’s because they
are, but we hope you’ll have just as much fun watching as they do
performing.
Don’t try to understand anything, just sit back, loosen the stays and enjoy
it!
Thank you very much for coming.
Pam Finlay Producer
Tim ~ apart from the fact there was nobody
else available, I am the obvious choice for
this role: the only person in the company
who goes by the same name throughout –
Tim! (One thing less for me to remember!)
Pam ~ I never dreamt that I would be
producing my all-time favourite play again at
my advanced age! Many thanks to the
company for making it such a pleasure.