Noises Off

by Michael Frayn

There's No Business Like Show Business...

Called "the funniest farce ever written," Noises Off is a celebrated, fast-paced peek backstage at a touring theatre company's disastrous production of Nothing On, where unfortunately, almost nothing is going right. Packed with slamming doors, missed cues, and flying sardines, this Olivier Award-winning comedy offers a hilarious, chaotic look at life behind the curtain.

Masterfully constructed, Noises Off is the “most dexterously realized comedy ever about putting on a comedy” (NY Times). Playwright and novelist Michael Frayn (Democracy, Copenhagen) devised the concept for Noises Off while watching another one of his plays from backstage. “It was funnier from behind than in front and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind.” With an ingenious structure that showcases the action both onstage and off, Noises Off premiered in London in 1982, garnering immediate acclaim. NY Times critic Frank Rich, who saw the premiere as well as the Broadway production in 1983, proclaimed the work “The funniest play written in my lifetime.” Join us for an evening of rollicking hilarity and virtuosic timing!

Content Advisory: Contains comedic violence and sexual situations.

Performance Schedule