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Closed: 16 December 2023

Full cast announced for Noises Off UK tour

Liza Goddard, Matthew Kelly and Simon Shepherd are among the company

Exclusive:  Complete casting has now been revealed for the upcoming UK tour of the 40th anniversary production of Michael’s Frayn’s Noises Off .

The show will open at Birmingham Rep on 23 August, before visiting Newcastle, Bath, Truro, Blackpool, Poole, Salford, Guildford, York, Norwich, Aberdeen, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Chichester. Further dates and casting for 2024 are still to be announced.

Directed by Lindsay Posner, the touring cast will include Liza Goddard (as Dotty Otley), Matthew Kelly (as Selsdon Mowbray) and Simon Shepherd (as Lloyd Dallas), alongside Simon Coates (as Frederick Fellowes), Lucy Robinson (as Belinda Blair), Daniel Rainford (as Tim Allgood), Dan Fredenburgh (as Garry Lejeune), Lisa Ambalavanar (as Brooke Ashton) and Nikhita Lesler (as Poppy Norton-Taylor).

The iconic “play-within-a-play” farce follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they shambolically attempt to put on the fictional comedy Nothing On .

Under the direction of Lindsay Posner, the creative team includes designer Simon Higlett, lighting designer Paul Pyant, sound designer Gregory Clarke, composer Will Stuart, movement and fight director Ruth Cooper-Brown, associate director George Jibson and casting director Ginny Schiller.

As previously announced, the 40th anniversary production is also returning to the West End this September , running at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and starring Felicity Kendal, Jonathan Coy and Alexander Hanson.

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Noises Off Tour tour

Currently touring until 13 January 2024

Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On.

Noises Off is hitting the road for a new UK tour in 2023 – here’s all you need to know.

From Noises Off tour tickets to all the upcoming dates and venues, this is your guide to the show on the road.

Noises Off is a play-within-a-play, following the backstage antics of the cast and crew who are staging a touring production of the (fictional) play Nothing On.

Noises Off tour dates and tickets

Sorry, no more tour dates are currently scheduled for this show! Check back soon for new dates in the near future.

Meet the Noises Off tour cast

The cast of the UK tour features Liza Goddard (Life of Riley, Communicating Doors, Season’s Greetings, Relatively Speaking) as Dotty Otley, Matthew Kelly (Of Mice and Men, Waiting for Godot, Comedians, Troilus and Cressida) as Selsdon Mowbray and Simon Shepherd (Peak Practice, Posh, The Duck House, Rapture, Art, Hay Fever) as Lloyd Dallas.

They will be joined on tour by Simon Coates as Frederick Fellowes, Lucy Robinson as Belinda Blair, Daniel Rainford as Tim Allgood, Dan Fredenburgh as Garry Lejeune, Lisa Ambalavanar as Brooke Ashton and Nikhita Lesler as Poppy Norton-Taylor.

Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On. From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

Lindsay Posner directs this new 40th anniversary production from Theatre Royal Bath Productions.

Following the new 2023 tour dates, the show will return for a limited West End run .

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One of the greatest British comedies ever written returns to Malvern after a successful West End run. Starring Liza Goddard ,  Paul Bradley and Simon Shepherd , Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play.

Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On.

From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith Photos featuring the 2023 touring cast

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Clever, so clever and sooooo funny.

Any evening well spent . Hard work for those on stage, but they did very well.

Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” is over 40 years old now but showing no signs of aging proving the essential elements of British farce (e.g. trouser dropping, jumping out of cupboards, wrong doors, mistaken identity, double entendres, extra marital affairs etc etc) are timeless. Frayn’s twist of putting his farce within a farce adds a new dimension to the mix in this high-energy production. It’s all a bit frenetic, but the cast, led by Simon Shepherd as the world-weary director, are on top form, hamming it up for all it’s worth. Act 2 and the car-crash silent performance is a masterpiece of comic timing and stage craft worth the admission price alone. Like Les Dawson playing the piano, it takes real skill to do something this badly so well.

Not sure how the cast are going to get through the week with a couple of matinees thrown in maintaining these energy levels. 4.5/5

Fairy Powered Productions - Courie Amado Juneau

Noises Off, the wonderful British farce, is a play within a play in which a group of actors navigate through the staging of the fictional “Nothing On” where, naturally, things don’t go as planned and interpersonal relationships complicate matters.

The first act opens on the final rehearsal; the cast are suffering from rather shambolic performances, unfamiliarity with lines and battling the many props the author has inflicted upon them. Chief among these are plates of sardines. We’re introduced to the characters in the order they appear in “Nothing On” though, of course, during this first act we also get introduced to all their issues. This includes a complicated love triangle and a cast member whose familiarity with drink triggers consternation for all.

Liza Goddard plays Dotty the housekeeper (in “Nothing On”) and an actress who has a stake in the production both financially and romantically with a fellow cast member. A performance full of wit and a lovely natural quality that was ever more effective as the play rushed towards its manic finale. She was a delight to watch.

Soon enough director Lloyd Dallas (played by Simon Shepherd) interrupts to give some needed (yet seldom headed) direction, trying to get the cast back on track and focused. Mr Shepherd brought gravitas and an attractive realism to the role in a commanding performance.

A superb ensemble gave their all and each had their highlights. A tight word count prevents me waxing lyrical about each of them. I will briefly mention Paul Bradley as Selsdon as my particular highlight as I really enjoyed his bumbling, the misunderstandings he wrought and his attempts to get his hands on that bottle in the second act…

In that second act we join the cast some weeks into the play’s run to discover that the pressures have taken their toll. The backstage crew, seen in the first act, really come into their own in this second act as they try to navigate the increasingly choppy waters and series of unfortunate misunderstandings (especially when the Director turns up with the aforementioned booze and instructions to purchase flowers for one of the cast). Tim (Daniel Rainford) and Poppy (Nikhita Lesler) played these behind the scenes (and under the cosh) heroes with superb comic timing and relish; working together wonderfully to produce cascades of hilarity – especially in the non-stop, non-sequential audience announcements. The final act brings us the rather unfortunate closing night. I won’t spoil the surprise but if you have ever seen The Play That Goes Wrong you will know what to expect.

I love the premise to this work, it’s ingenious to see the same play from three different stages of its run. It looks like a whole lotta fun to perform in and it’s certainly many barrels of laughs to watch. With disappearing props driving the company to despair, wardrobe malfunctions aplenty and a cast doing their best to just get to the end at all costs whilst all around unravels, this show has plenty for everyone to enjoy. A pleasure to see this work on the stage again, it’s just what the Dr ordered to dispel those winter blues. Highly reccommended.

Showtime! John Philpott

Back in the dinosaur days of my childhood there was the occasional treat permitted that momentarily suspended the usual 1950s parent-offspring conventions.

It was the televised Whitehall Farce, a riot in black and white of dropped trousers, striped boxer shorts, young women running about in male fantasy underwear, and the entire symphony of questionable taste set to the beat of endlessly slammed doors.

Fast forward several decades.... and let us enter Michael Frayn’s seemingly evergreen trespass into a world of what many would regard as being hopelessly dated humour.

So, one would be forgiven for thinking that all the comedic developments of the last half century had never taken place. In which case, you’d be wrong, because what is essentially childish humour has been updated by... the shout.

And I mean SHOUT! For it never stops, not once for nearly two hours. I suppose for that we have to thank – or curse, depending on one’s sensibilities and endurance levels – Ben Elton, the greatest rant meister the late 20th century world had even seen.

Just a theory, mind. Whatever makes us laugh at the same, predictable knockabout capers, we may never know.

Suffice to say that people were laughing like drains on the first night and I doubt the mirth will stop until the curtain finally falls at the Festival Theatre on Saturday night.

However, back in the Brian Rix era, there was usually a slow build-up to the action before the obligatory explosion of loose lingerie, a bit like those volcanoes currently going off across Iceland, only maybe hotter.

Not so with this one. Lisa Ambalavanar’s kit comes off before you can say ‘suspender belts ahoy’ and this sets the tone for the evening’s madness as her Brooke Ashton character whoops and shrieks her way through the proceedings.

Likewise, Dan Fredenburgh as Garry Lejeune who, displaying truly remarkable energy levels, effortlessly John Cleeses a stormy passage through his endless disasters.

Noises Off is that modern phenomenon known as ‘the play within a play,’ in this case the sorry tale of a group of touring thespians staggering from gig to gig, each one worse than the one that came before.

Crucially, Simon Higlett’s extremely impressive sets feature plenty of doors, ideal for constant slamming, as every farce funster knows. I counted eight in the first set, a similar number in the second, lost count on the third. So, allowing say four on the last, that’s 20 doors, together with their attendant 40 well-oiled hinges.

And that, my friends, makes for one hell of a percussive slamathon. In fact, put this in a rock context, and I reckon Simon is to Noises Off what the late and great Charlie Watts was to the Rolling Stones.

However, the running gag revolves around sardines. Why? Because they are. Don’t ask me why the omega-rich little friends of the cardiovascular system have been granted this honour, I dunno, they just have.

Except, of course, they make useful props when it comes to visual jokes. Such as when Liza Goddard’s Mrs Mop character Dotty Otley drops a handful down the front of her pinny, and then must retrieve them, pulling all manner of agonised faces in the process.

Interestingly, La Goddard is the only cast member capable of expressing herself at less than 99.5 decibels, which certainly pales in comparison to Lucy Robinson’s Belinda Blair, who goes at it full throttle for the duration, possibly using more wattage than a Megadeath encore.

But hey, it’s all good fun, and a capacity crowd enjoyed every single hyperactive second, hooting, whooping and generally going bonkers.

But what would Brian Rix say? We can only guess... so may the farce be with you, everyone.

Brilliant. What else is there to say.

Wow. This cast and show are outstanding. Could not recommend highly enough. Fantastic! The physicality of some of the cast was unbelievable,the comic timing was sublime. Amazing!!

The View from the Stalls - Pete Phillips

A hilarious account of what it takes to put on a play

Have you ever seen the same play three times in a single evening?

If not, then now's your chance as Michael Frayn's unique comedy Noises Off comes to Malvern with a great cast of Liza Goddard (who was here less than a year ago in Alan Ayckbourn's Relatively Speaking) , Simon Shepherd (who was also here less than a year ago in Mrs Warren's Profession) and Paul Bradley in the main roles.

The structure of the evening is quite simple. A play called Nothing On is being performed at various venues around the country and is directed by a man who, by his own admission, would rather be elsewhere directing Richard III.

Firstly we see the cast doing the "technical" or "dress" rehearsal - time restraints means having to combine the two or even considering the first performance as the last rehearsal. This catastrophic introduction to the play gives the idea that the show is not quite ready…

After the interval, we return to the play but with one impressive and crucial difference. The entire set has revolved so we are now looking at the back of the stage as the play is re-enacted from the start for a matinée performance (of mainly old-age pensioners!) and we watch as chaos ensues behind the scenes. Due to the fact that the "other" audience is listening to the play, everything that we see going on backstage - and a lot does - is done in complete silence with plenty of miming and exaggerated frantic actions.

The curtain falls again and this time we see the revolving set returning to the position we normally expect for a final performance where things go frankly from bad to worse…

The play cleverly contains just about every element essential to a farce and in spite of the fact that the play is now 40 years old, it is basically timeless with only the old-fashioned TV set and telephone harking back to an earlier time. There are 6 doors - some that won't open and some that won't close, of course - vital for the cast to appear from and disappear into at appropriate moments, various pairs of trousers that won't stay up, an inebriated cast member, plates of sardines(!) and a line you would never expect in a play: "I thought I'd never see Basingstoke again!"

The play must be a challenge for the cast, having to perform the same lines three times in different circumstances without ever getting confused as to which calamity they are portraying and they pull it off superbly. It is a challenge that pays of brilliantly as far as the "real" audience is concerned who were kept in stiches throughout the whole show and certainly showed their appreciation when the curtain finally fell for the last time (and yes, in keeping with the calamitous show, there were various unsuccessful attempts to even do that!)

Comedy is the hardest performing genre, even with this incredibly funny and almost slapstick script from Michael Frayn. The cast of 'Noises Off' in this production acted as a single unit, creating an hilarious and impeccably-timed performance which had the audience in hysterics. There were so many nuances, well-crafted characters and moments of team interaction, it is impossible to point to anything in particular; but as the farcical nature of the situation increases, so the comedy moments become evermore fast and furious. My favourite moment was when the increasingly harassed estate agent slid down the stairs; and one to watch is the jack-of-all trades stage hand, understated yet brilliantly executed. The script is hilariously funny, and this company was astonishing in their versatility and delivery. A standing ovation from the nearly full Tuesday night audience says it all!!

Behind the Arras - Emma Trimble

Michael Frayn’s Noises Off UK Tour extends into 2024, opening at Malvern Theatres with a crash bang wallop from the West End, so sit back in the dark with a packet of Gummy Bears and enjoy the farce, after a toilet break of course.

It’s final rehearsals in Weston-Super-Mare for Nothing On, as a play within a play undresses itself, dropping trousers, breaking out of paper bags with sex maniacs running riot. “Once you get it in your nostrils, you never forget it.”

What is a farce without crude characterization, trousers round your ankles and a plate of sardines? British award-winning playwright and novelist Michael Frayn is hailed as the master of farce comedy and it’s easy to see why it’s celebrating the 40th anniversary, as the penmanship is exquisitely executed with warp speed nimbleness with instantaneous joy and humility.

The play premiered at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London in 1982, but is it dated for a more modern audience? This year’s farcical comedy is at Malvern Theatres from January 16 until January 20 and I was lucky to see Liza Goddard in action as housekeeper Dotty Otley, Dotty by name and dotty by nature.

Dotty becomes increasingly forgetful and confused wrapping herself up in the telephone cable and becoming more and more dishevelled as the antics behind the scenes force their way on to the stage. Luckily she can’t see far with her leg.

Director Lloyd Dallas, Simon Shepherd, has great stage presence and brings everything together despite his dalliances. Belinda Blair, Lucy Robinson, had me in hysterics with her incredible miming, flouncing around in her bright pink dress and keeping a check on burglar Selsdon Mowbray, Paul Bradley, who can just about hear what is going on.

The set designer Simon Higlett cleverly engineers a revolving set seamlessly transitioning from front of house to behind the scenes allowing Lindsay Posner to direct the magic with a little help from lighting designer Paul Pyant and sound designer Gregory Clarke. ‘It’s all quite simple really, doors and sardines. That’s what it’s all about, doors and sardines. Getting on, getting off. Getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That’s farce. That’s the theatre. That’s life.’

When one door opens another door closes. After the first Act with the disastrous final rehearsals, the second Act gathers momentum behind the scenes with Garry Lejeune’s, Dan Fredenburgh’s, increasing anger at betrayal, heartbreak, jealousy and has to perform a Wednesday matinee in Ashton-under-Lyne with shoe laces tied together, fighting with a cactus and taking a tumble, oh I don’t know…

The piece de resistance is the final third Act in Stockton-on-Tees ending in a frantic chaotic, slapstick medley of shenanigans which will leave you wanting to watch the whole thing all over again.

Noises Off is definitely not dated, despite the microwave looking television and the box of paperwork. Brooke Ashton, Lisa Ambalavanar, can finally put some clothes on and see clearly and Tim Allgood, Daniel Rainford can have a well-deserved rest with his feet up and Frederick Fellowes, Simon Coates, can pull his trousers up and mop his bloody nose in peace.

‘When all around is strife and uncertainty, there’s nothing like an old fashioned plate of, uh….Curtain!’

A must see this week at Malvern Theatres.

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Show all results, noises off in salford.

Noises Off at The Lowry, Salford

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Theatre Royal Bath Productions present

Liza Goddard, Matthew Kelly and Simon Shepherd in

By Michael Frayn

Directed by Lindsay Posner 

DIRECT FROM THE WEST END 

One of the greatest British comedies ever written returns to The Lowry direct from a sell-out West End run. 

Michael Frayn ’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill, a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, ‘Nothing On’.

One of the UK’s favourite actresses, Liza Goddard ’s extensive stage comedy credits include Life of Riley, Communicating Doors, Season’s Greetings and Relatively Speaking.

Matthew Kelly won the Olivier Award for Of Mice and Men . His West End credits include Waiting For Godot, Comedians and Troilus and Cressida.

Simon Shepherd ‘s many credits include Peak Practice on TV and the West End productions of Posh, The Duck House, Rapture , Art and Hay Fever.

Noises Off Tickets

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Noises off on tour.

Our review on Noises Off

Noises off - the lowry, salford - tuesday 17th october 2023 by karen ryder, noises off is wildly bonkers and is guaranteed to make you laugh all the possible laughs in your repertoire.

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LondonTheatre1

London Theatre: Tickets | Reviews | News | West End | UK Touring Productions

Noises Off UK Tour announces full casting starring Liza Goddard…

July 27, 2023 Last updated: July 27, 2023 4:16 pm By Admin

The 40th anniversary production of Michael Frayn’s multi-award-winning farce, Noises Off is heading out on a major UK tour this autumn, following a sell-out West End season at the Phoenix Theatre earlier this year. Directed by Lindsay Posner, the touring production will star Liza Goddard as Dotty Otley, Matthew Kelly as Selsdon Mowbray and Simon Shepherd as Lloyd Dallas. They will be joined on tour by Simon Coates as Frederick Fellowes, Lucy Robinson as Belinda Blair, Daniel Rainford as Tim Allgood, Dan Fredenburgh as Garry Lejeune, Lisa Ambalavanar as Brooke Ashton and Nikhita Lesler as Poppy Norton-Taylor.

One of the greatest British comedies ever written, Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill, a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, ‘Nothing On’. From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

Liza Goddard’s extensive stage comedy credits include Life of Riley, Communicating Doors, Season’s Greetings and Relatively Speaking. Matthew Kelly won the Olivier Award for Of Mice and Men and his West End credits include Waiting for Godot, Comedians and Troilus and Cressida. Simon Shepherd’s many stage and TV credits include Peak Practice and West End productions of Posh, The Duck House, Rapture, Art and Hay Fever.

Hailed as the master of farce comedy, multi award-winning playwright and novelist Michael Frayn has inspired a generation of comedies since his production of Noises Off first opened in 1982. Now considered a comedy classic, Frayn’s legendary play has enjoyed stagings worldwide, including five productions in the West End and three on Broadway.

The 40th anniversary production also returns to the West End in September playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with Felicity Kendal, Jonathan Coy and Alexander Hanson reprising their roles. The West End production will run concurrently with the touring production.

Noises Off is written by Michael Frayn. Directed by Lindsay Posner, with design by Simon Higlett, lighting by Paul Pyant, sound by Gregory Clarke, composition by Will Stuart, movement and fight direction by Ruth Cooper-Brown and casting by Ginny Schiller. The Associate Director is George Jibson. Produced by Theatre Royal Bath Productions in association with Birmingham Rep.

Listing Information:

NOISES OFF UK TOUR 2023-24

Wed 23 – Sat 9 Sep BIRMINGHAM Rep BOX OFFICE 0121 236 4455 birmingham-rep.co.uk

Tue 12 – Sat 16 Sep NEWCASTLE Theatre Royal BOX OFFICE 08448 11 21 21 theatreroyal.co.uk

Tue 19 – Sat 23 Sep BATH Theatre Royal BOX OFFICE 01225 448844 theatreroyal.org.uk

Tue 26 – Sat 30 Sep TRURO Hall for Cornwall BOX OFFICE 01872 262466 hallforcornwall.co.uk

Tue 3 – Sat 7 Oct BLACKPOOL Grand Theatre BOX OFFICE 01253 290 190 blackpoolgrand.co.uk

Tue 10 – Sat 14 Oct POOLE Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts BOX OFFICE 01202 280000 lighthousepoole.co.uk

Tue 17 – Sat 21 Oct SALFORD The Lowry BOX OFFICE 0343 208 6000 thelowry.com

Tue 24 – Sat 28 Oct GUILDFORD Yvonne Arnaud Theatre BOX OFFICE 01483 44 00 00 yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

Tue 31 Oct – Sat 4 Nov YORK Theatre Royal BOX OFFICE 01904 623568 yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Tue 7 – Sat 11 Nov NORWICH Theatre Royal BOX OFFICE 01603 63 00 00 norwichtheatre.org

Tue 14 – Sat 18 Nov ABERDEEN His Majesty’s Theatre BOX OFFICE 01224 641122 aberdeenperformingarts.com

Tue 21 – Sat 25 Nov MILTON KEYNES Theatre BOX OFFICE 0844 871 7652

Tue 28 Nov – Sat 2 Dec SHEFFIELD Lyceum Theatre BOX OFFICE 0114 249 6000 sheffieldtheatres.co.uk

Tue 9 – Sat 13 Jan CHICHESTER Festival Theatre BOX OFFICE 01243 781312 cft.org.uk

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Noises Off Starring Felicity Kendal

Full Cast Announced for 40th Anniversary Tour of Noises Off

The full cast is announced today for the 40 th Anniversary tour of Michael Frayn’s multi award-winning farce, Noises Off , which will open at Theatre Royal Bath from 22 September 2022, before heading on to Richmond, Brighton and Cambridge.

Joining the previously announced Felicity Kendal (The Good Life, Relatively Speaking and Hay Fever ) as Dotty Otley will be stage and screen actors Tracy-Ann Oberman ( EastEnders, Friday Night Dinner and Edmond ) as Belinda Blair and Matthew Kelly ( The Dresser , Waiting For Godot , as well as hosting Stars In Their Eyes and You Bet! ) as Selsdon Mowbray.

The full cast will include Alexander Hanson as Lloyd Dallas, Joseph Millson as Garry Lejeune, Sasha Frost as Brooke Ashton, Pepter Lunkhuse as Poppy Norton Taylor, Jonathan Coy as Fredrick Fellows, and Hubert Burton as Tim

One of the greatest British comedies ever written, Noises Off will be directed by Lindsay Posner ( God of Carnage, Hay Fever, Stones in his Pockets )

Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed,  Noises Off  follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce,  Nothing On.  From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

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After watching from the wings a production of his 1970 farce The Two of Us with Richard Briers and Lynn Redgrave and noting that the goings on behind the scenes were funnier than out front, Michael Frayn wrote Noises Off . The original production opened in London in 1982 before becoming a worldwide hit. A feature film was made of Noises Off in 1992.

Noises Off is written by Michael Frayn. The creative team for this 40 th Anniversary production includes Lindsay Posner (Director), Simon Higlett (Designer), Paul Pyant (Lighting Designer), Greg Clarke (Sound Designer), Will Stuart (Composer), Ruth Cooper-Brown (Movement and Fight Director), George Jibson (Associate Director), Ginny Schiller (Casting Director).

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Noises Off Tour- Felicity Kendall stars in Michael Frayn’s classic pre West End

Felicity Kendall stars in the Noises Off Tour celebrating the  40th anniversary of Michael Frayn’s beloved comedy ahead of a West End season.

Noises Off Tour 2022 – Now Concluded

Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents one of the greatest British comedies ever written, starring one of our best-loved stage and screen stars, Felicity Kendal.

STOP PRESS Noises Off is to open at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End in January 2023

Directed by Lindsay Posner, the award-winning farce by Michael Frayn will open in Bath before heading on to Richmond, Brighton and Cambridge. Further casting to be announced.

Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed,  Noises Off  follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce,  Nothing On.  From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

One of the UK’s best-loved actors, Felicity Kendal plays the role of the forgetful Dotty Otley. Having shot to fame in  The Good Life , Felicity has won numerous awards for her stage work. Recent visits to Bath have included  Relatively Speaking, Hay Fever  and  The Argument .

Noises Off will be directed Lindsay Posner, one of the UK’s most accomplished directors of comedy. His previous production of  Noises Off  enjoyed a sell-out run at London’s Old Vic. His recent productions in Bath include  God of Carnage, Stones in his Pockets, She Stoops To Conquer , and he previously directed Felicity Kendal in the West End transfer of  Hay Fever .

After watching from the wings a production of his 1970 farce The Two of Us with Richard Briers and Lynn Redgrave and noting that the goings on behind the scenes were funnier than out front, Michael Frayn wrote Noises Off . The original production opened in London in 1982 before becoming a worldwide hit. A feature film was made of Noises Off in 1992.

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NOISES OFF TOUR DATES

Theatre Royal Bath 21 September – 1 October 2022 BOOK TICKETS

Richmond Theatre 4 – 15 October 2022 BOOK TICKETS

Theatre Royal Brighton 18 – 22 October 2022 BOOK TICKETS

Cambridge Arts Theatre 25 – 29 October 2022 BOOK TICKETS

Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept.

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Hailed as one of the greatest British comedies ever written, Michael Frayn’s multi award-winning backstage farce serves up a riotous double bill – a more...

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Noises Off - UK Tour

• UK Tour Autumn 2023
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August 2023 - January 2024

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One of the greatest British comedies ever written returns for a major UK Tour following a successful West End run.

Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed,  Noises Off  follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce,  Nothing On . From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyne seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

★★★★★  “The ultimate comedy of theatrical chaos and confusion” Sunday Express

★★★★★  “Lindsay Posner’s miraculously choreographed revival is proof that Noises  Off has lost none of its power to reduce adults to hysterical, helpless wrecks”  Mail on Sunday

★★★★★  “As finely worked as a Swiss watch and as funny as the human condition permits”   The Times

“I giggled myself silly throughout”   Observer

Tue 9 - Sat 13 Jan CHICHESTER Festival Theatre  BOX OFFICE 01243 781312 BOOK NOW .

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Theatre Royal Bath Productions in association with Birmingham Rep present

NOISES OFF by Michael Frayn

Starring LIZA GODDARD and PAUL BRADLEY (From Tue 16 Jan 2024)

With SIMON COATES, LUCY ROBINSON, DANIEL RAINFORD, DAN FREDENBURGH, LISA AMBALAVANAR AND NIKHITA LESLER

Director Lindsay Posner 

Associate Director George Jibson

Assistant Director Merle Wheldon-Posner

Set Designer Simon Higlett 

Lighting Designer Paul Pyant 

Sound Designer Gregory Clarke 

Composer Will Stuart

Casting Director Ginny Schiller CDG

Movement/Fight Director Ruth Cooper-Brown

Associate Fight and Movement Director Claire Llewellyn

If you have any concerns regarding the content of any production, please speak to a member of the Box Office.

To find out more about priority booking and other membership benefits, or ways to support the Theatre Royal Bath, please  CLICK HERE 

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EVENT INFORMATION

Evenings: 7.30pm Matinees: Wed & Thu 2pm, Sat 2.30pm Running time: 2hrs 25mins (including interval)

DIRECT FROM WEST END

One of the greatest British comedies ever written visits Newcastle Theatre Royal, direct from a triumphant West End season.

Michael frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill, a play within a play..

Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On .

Starring one of the UK’s favourite actresses, Liza Goddard ( Life of Riley, Communicating Doors, Season’s Greetings, Relatively Speaking), Matthew Kelly ( Of Mice and Men, Waiting for Godot, Comedians, Troilus and Cressida ), and Simon Shepherd ( Peak Practice, Posh, The Duck House, Rapture, Art, Hay Fever ).

From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-under-Lyne seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

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‘ one of the most joyous farces ever written… reduced me to laughter so helpless i could barely see the stage for crying’.

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O f all the ‘sure things’ in theatre, Noises Off is doubtless amongst the most dependable.

For certain, casting can be a strong bellwether as to how rib-tickling any particular production of Frayn’s classic metafictive romp is likely to be. But generally, you know you’re in for a good time watching the gradual collapse of a fictional touring production, beset with backstage hijinks, misunderstandings and general mayhem.

The progenitor of many modern farces of its ilk (the impact and influence on The Play That Goes Wrong and indeed much of Mischief Theatre ’s output is undeniable), Noises lands in 2023 as a slightly less technically ambitious slice of physical silly than many of its successors, but no less biting or delicious.

For sure, some of its handling of issues offer occasional glimpses at Noises’ age (having debuted back in 1982), but there remains something infectiously irresistible about watching this merry band of players and their fictional touring piece gradually deteriorate into bedlam.

“…there remains something infectiously irresistible about watching this merry band of players and their fictional touring piece gradually deteriorate into bedlam.”

And, where many of its imitators lean harder or go grander on the slapstick, Noises remains the king of keeping character, and not incident, as the source of its funny.

Based in part on writer Michael Frayn ’s own experiences and obversations in company and touring theatre, one of the evergreen delights of this silly show are the personalities and interpersonal squabbles that fuel so much of the anarchy. It’s fairly broad stuff – the frayed director ( Simon Shepherd ) putting it about with his leading lady ( Lisa Ambalavanar ) and stage manager ( Nikhita Lesler ) both. The self-admittedly (“You know how stupid I am”) hopeless actor ( Simon Coates ) asking endless questions of motivation, whilst regularly fainting at the first signs of violence. Catfights between co-stars. The grandstanding, neurotic leading man ( Garry Lejeune ) who descends to bouts of almost psychotic, axe-wielding jealous rage. And, of course, the ever-reliable presence of the whiskey-sloshing, line-forgetting has-been ( Matthew Kelly ). 

This latest touring production stems off of last year’s fortieth anniversary revival, which saw the likes of Felicity Kendal and Tracy-Ann Oberman fooling around in Frayn’s madcap sandbox. For this tour, Olivier-winner and former tv favourite, Matthew Kelly , is likely the most recognisable name, and he is great fun throughout as forgetful dipsomaniac Selsdon. But he’s capably joined by a well-rounded company who keep the energy levels high, and the laughs regular. Noises has a fairly carefully-calibrated creeping ascension of chaos, and the entire troupe do a great job of gradually upping the ante on the madness.

“Olivier-winner Matthew Kelly … whose cheery, drunken whimsy lights up every scene he stumbles through…”

They’re all solid, though along with Kelly, whose cheery, drunken whimsy lights up every scene he stumbles through, there are some notable standouts. Dan Fredenburgh is a whirlwind of manic energy, from cocksure to crazed, as an increasingly incensed and despairing Garry. Simon Shepherd bandies between deadpan and rage with a character that he manages to pull from being too sleazy or detestable in a post-‘me too’ age. And Lisa Ambalavanar is gloriously ditzy as an actress completely unwilling (unable?) to ad-lib or veer off-script, even as scenes collapse about her.

Perhaps most fabulous of all is stage and screen veteran Lucy Robinson as consummate luvvy, Belinda. Pitching her flamboyantly stagey and animated actress as something resembling Patricia Routledge by way of a caffeine overdose, it’s a delectable, side-splitting spot of character work. A late-game sequence wherein Robinson’s Belinda is attempting to hold together the rapidly-collapsing show around her offers up amongst the finest examples of comedy performance you’ll likely see on stage this year.

“…offers up amongst the finest examples of omedy performance you’ll likely see on stage this year.”

Director Lindsay Posner keeps things taut, punchy and fairly immaculately paced. Some of the physical tussles occasionally register as a little too phoney, but the jokes and set pieces come thick and fast enough that the odd dodgy wrestle or tug of war is quickly forgotten.

As ‘sure things’ go, seeing Noises Off return over four decades after it first debuted, and having lost none of its humour or heart in the process, makes for a very easy recommendation. For some weaned on the multi-levelled, stage-destroying spectacle of The Play That Goes Wrong (Mischief’s offerings being now so ubiquitous as to make the comparison unavoidable), then here you’ll likely find a slightly tamer, perhaps even more twee affair, yet one whose characters and repartee sizzle as caustically and foolishly as ever.

Noises still brings the laughs and, peppered with some genuinely fantastic comedic turns as this touring production is, proves to be definitely one to tick ‘ Off’ the bucket list.

Kelly, Robinson and friends bring Frayn’s undisputed classic back with infectious relish. Its physicality and slapstick hijinks register a little tamer in the post-Mischief landscape, but its character work and silliness have lost none of their spark.

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It’s four filthy, fishy and fabulous stars for @unfortunatemusical from @kylebpedley, which he calls a ‘deceptively quite clever, and certainly original’ parody, with ‘a fierce and commanding central turn’ from @shawnahamic! 💜🐙🦀⚓️🎭🎶 You can read Kyle’s full review on the TWE site (link in bio), and can catch ‘Unfortuante’ at @brumhippodrome until Saturday, and then at @wolvesgrand in July! #unfortunate #musical #unfortunatemusical #thelittlemermaid #disney #parody #funny #whatson #birmingham #wolverhampton #twe #review #thingsweenjoy

It ain’t ogre ‘til the green lady sings… @shrek_uk is at @thealexbham this week, and @kylebpedley calls it ‘funny, goofy and silly’, with ‘a really excellent cast’… 🧅🫏🧚🐉🏰🎭🎶 Head over to the TWE site (link in bio) to read Kyle’s review in full, and catch the swamp at the Alex until Sun 14th April! #shrek #shrekmusical #shrekthemusical #theatre #musicaltheatre #review #birmingham #whatson #twe #thingsweenjoy

It’s four tropical, sun-kissed stars for Debbie Isitt’s @soluckymusical from @kylebpedley, which runs at @thealexbham this week! ☀️🏖️🕶️🎶 Head on over to the TWE site (link in bio) for our full review, and catch the show in Birmingham until 6th April before it jets off for the rest of its UK tour! ✈️ #IShouldBeSoLucky #IShouldBeSoLuckyMusical #musical #musicaltheatre #review #uktour #stockaitkenwaterman #kylie #kylieminogue #theatre #stagey #thingsweenjoy #twe

The ‘cultural phenomenon’ flies into Brum ‘with the force of a house-hurling hurricane’ and ‘a cast that will blow your silver slippers right off’ - it’s 5 glowing stars for @wickeduk from @kylebpedley! Head on over to the TWE site (link in bio) for the full review, and catch ‘Wicked’ at @brumhippodrome until 7th April, before it flies off to other venues on tour! #wicked #theatre #birmingham #birminghamhippodrome #whatson #easter #wickeduk #wickedontour #uktour #review #fivestars #twe #thingsweenjoy

It’s 167 shots… sorry, four sizzling stars from @kylebpedley for the UK tour of @bonnieclydeldn, which had its gala press night at @wolvesgrand on Tuesday evening! Head on over to the TWE site (link in bio) to read Kyle’s full review, and you can catch this ‘sexy, showy’ production on tour at various theatres and venues across the UK now! #bonnieandclyde #bonnieandclydemusical #musical #review #theatre #uktour #wolverhampton #westmidlands #whatson

It’s four stars from @kylebpedley for the ‘delightful’ Ben and Imo, now playing at @thersc’s Swan Theatre until April 6th. Head on over to the TWE site (link in bio) for Kyle’s full review of what he calls an ‘immaculately performed two-hander‘ with ‘two stellar, absorbing performances’… #review #theatre #rsc #royalshakespearecompany #benandimo #benjaminbritten #imogenholst #markravenhill #ericawhyman #stratford #stratforduponavon #swantheatre #review #twe #thingsweenjoy

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Tue 17 October - Sat 21 October

Theatre Royal Bath Productions present

Liza Goddard, Matthew Kelly and Simon Shepherd in

By Michael Frayn

Directed by Lindsay Posner 

DIRECT FROM THE WEST END 

One of the greatest British comedies ever written returns to The Lowry direct from a sell-out West End run. 

Michael Frayn ’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill, a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, ‘Nothing On’.

One of the UK’s favourite actresses, Liza Goddard ’s extensive stage comedy credits include Life of Riley, Communicating Doors, Season’s Greetings and Relatively Speaking.

Matthew Kelly won the Olivier Award for Of Mice and Men . His West End credits include Waiting For Godot, Comedians and Troilus and Cressida.

Simon Shepherd ‘s many credits include Peak Practice on TV and the West End productions of Posh, The Duck House, Rapture , Art and Hay Fever.

Photographer Credit : Photos by Pamela Raith

‘One of the most joyous farces ever written…reduced me to laughter so helpless I could barely see the stage for crying’

WhatsOnStage

‘Pure comic bliss. Dazzlingly brilliant…has lost none of its power to reduce well-behaved adults to hysterical wrecks’

‘Blissfully and brilliantly funny…guaranteed to leave an audience breathless with laughter’

Evening Standard

‘Glorious… one of the funniest plays in the canon’

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Noises Off Tickets

About Noises Off

See the return of Michael Frayn’s classic British comedy at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Noises Off tickets are available on London Theatre now.

This side-splitting play is a West End pleaser. From the 1982 premiere at Lyric Hammersmith to its further iterations, audiences of all generations continue to laugh at the timeless sketches in the “play-within-a-play.” In 2019, Noises Off returned to its off-West End home with beloved comic actor Meera Syal as Dotty Otley.

Fast forward to 2023, Noises Off celebrates its fortieth anniversary with a production at the Phoenix Theatre, followed by a second limited West End engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Felicity Kendal, Jonathan Coy, and Alexander Hanson will all reprise their roles.

Noises Off inspired future comedy classics: The Play That Goes Wrong takes influence from the 1980s show; they both follow a hapless group who struggle through all the odds to put on a show. 2023 marks a great moment for British entertainment, with both shows playing at the same time. So get ready to belly laugh until you ache.

What is Noises Off about?

Noises Off follows the onstage and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they act out a fictional farce — Nothing On . In each of the three acts, audiences see the company at a different part of the show: the final rehearsals, backstage during the opening night in Weston-Super-Mare, and the last matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme. As the cast and crew get closer during the tour, their relationships are tested to breaking point. Can the show go on?

Tickets to Noises Off in London are available now. Book your Noises Off tickets on London Theatre today.

2h 20m (incl. interval)

27th September, 2023

16th December, 2023

Theatre Royal Haymarket

199 reviews on Show-Score

Noises Off cast and creative team

By: Michael Frayn Director: Lindsay Posner Cast list: Mathew Horne, Tamzin Outhwaite, Felicity Kendall, Jonathan Coy, Alexander Hanson, Sasha Frost, Pepter Lunkuse, Oscar Batterham Design: Simon Higlett Costumes: Simon Higlett Lighting: Paul Pyant Sound: Greg Clarke Other info: Original music by Will Stuart, movement and fight direction by Ruth Cooper-Brown

Location: West End Railway station: Charing Cross Bus numbers: (Haymarket) 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15, 19, 23, 38, 53, 88, 139, 159 Night bus numbers: (Haymarket) 6, 12, 23, 88, 139, 453, N8, N19, N38, N97, N3, N13, N15, N136, N159 Car park: Leicester Square, Whitcomb Street (2mins) Directions from tube: (5mins) Go along Coventry Street and then take Haymarket on the right where the theatre will be approx. 200 metres along.

More information about Noises Off

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Frequently asked questions

Follow a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through rehearsals, dress calls, and matinee performances in Noises Off. See the 40th anniversary production of Michael Frayn's comedy hit, starring Felicity Kendal, Jonathan Coy, Matthew Kelly and Tracy-Ann Oberman. Book tickets to Noises Off in London today.

How long is Noises Off?

The running time of Noises Off is 2h 20m (incl. interval).

Where is Noises Off playing?

Noises Off is playing at Theatre Royal Haymarket. The theatre is located in 18 Suffolk St, London, SW1Y 4HT.

How do you book tickets for Noises Off?

Book tickets for Noises Off on London Theatre.

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‘It’s my Mousetrap’: Michael Frayn on Noises Off, a farce to be reckoned with

The 1982 play stills pulls in crowds from Broadway to Helsinki, and is now returning to the West End for a fifth time. ‘I just can’t understand it,’ says its creator

T he arrival of anything by post was significant during the pandemic lockdown but, for the writer Michael Frayn , the contents of one envelope were particularly welcome. “Theatre had stopped and my income had dried up, so I was astonished when a large cheque arrived for amateur performances of Noises Off all over America. People are putting it on all the time.”

Since 1982, when Frayn, 89, first staged his fast-paced comedy about actors in a workaday farce, it has become a staple crowdpleaser around the world. This month, a touring 4oth anniversary production brings the show home to London’s West End for a triumphal fifth time, now at the Phoenix Theatre .

“I can’t quite understand it. Local theatres in Germany seem to be doing it continuously,” said the playwright. “In Finland, they used the idea that a company in the north were putting on an effete farce sent up from Helsinki, while in Barcelona a controversial production had a Catalan company putting on a Spanish-speaking show.”

On Broadway, however, producers have so far stuck to Frayn’s original English setting, which sees a troupe of jobbing performers simply “putting on some dreadful sex comedy”.

Funny shows can age quickly, but when the mechanics are as finely wrought and the human confusion as universal as in this, Frayn’s biggest hit, the length of the laughter appears limitless. Very few changes to the dialogue are ever made. “I am amazed that people are still prepared today to put on a play in which a rather dim young actress spends all evening in her underclothes,” said Frayn, who lives in Richmond with his wife, the acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin .

The author, who wrote for the Observer in the late 1960s and early 70s, has since produced a string of celebrated works, including the serious plays Copenhagen and Democracy and the admired novels Spies and Towards the End of the Morning (the latter, set in a newspaper office, is especially loved by journalists).

Usually, he says, the decision to tell a story on stage or in a book comes early. “Ideas immediately suggest one thing or the other, and Noises Off , obviously, had to be a play.”

The show’s first London cast was led by the late Paul Eddington, known for The Good Life and Yes Minister on TV, as the show’s beleaguered director, Lloyd Dallas. “He was terribly good,” recalls Frayn. “Claire remembers the management had to hold the curtain for 20 minutes at the beginning of the second preview because there was such a queue for tickets at the box office. Word had got out that we had something.”

But the play’s birth had been as complicated as its layers of cross-purposes might suggest. The idea first came to Frayn while watching, from behind the scenes, a one-act play he had written for Lynn Redgrave and Richard Briers. It was a pastiche of a five-character farce which, with a cast of just two, involved silly quick-changes and theatrical illusions. “I thought I would like to write a farce seen from backstage like this. It was a simple thought to have, but it turned out to be fiendishly difficult to do,” he says.

His notion of a staging a play which deliberately unravels before the audience’s eyes has proved highly influential. Not only did it permanently mess with theatrical expectations, it also arguably laid the groundwork for a string of spoof fly-on-the-wall formats on television, each revelling in the background mishaps of, say, a ministerial department in The Thick of It . More directly, it may have inspired the The Play That Goes Wrong series, a popular stage and television franchise that Frayn says he is ashamed not to have yet seen, adding: “But I am told they are very good.”

The first version of Noises Off , which takes its title from a common stage direction, was a one-act affair put on for a charity event. Renowned stage producer Michael Codron saw its potential and commissioned a full-length version. “I could see a way to do it by separating it out into three acts so that I was not trying to show everything simultaneously,” says Frayn.

“First, you needed to see the play and get to know the cast, then we needed to see what went on backstage between the actors, and then finally you see what complete mince is made of the play. But it took me a long time.”

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Frayn says the play eventually functioned only after collaboration with the Australian Michael Blakemore, his friend and “one of the greatest directors in the world”. “When we do a play, he makes me read the text out, which is an extremely painful experience because I have no acting ability whatsoever. I can’t even hit the right stress in my own lines. He sits there, not laughing or responding, then asks very stupid questions. Stupid questions are always the best questions.”

The playwright was convinced actors would find it too tricky to learn all the variations, in particular the repeated actions. “I thought: ’No one is ever going to do this’ – and indeed it is extremely difficult. Actors have to sort of start the mime over again each time in their head. They also have to play a lot of it to the back wall of the theatre, while we watch from behind. In the end, I thought: ‘If I can just get it finished, then I can forget about it.’ So I was amazed when Michael Codron still wanted to do it, suggesting some helpful changes.”

Frayn admits he once cultivated a disdain for theatre, the form of entertainment that now largely supports him. As a newspaper columnist he frequently mocked it: “I would say how embarrassing it was: the whole idea of people standing around in artificial groups, speaking in loud voices. I was slowly drawn into it at the end of my 30s – late for a dramatist.”

Today, his hit comedy, staged in Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest, Tallinn and even Vienna’s prestigious Burgtheater, is Frayn’s “life support system. Copenhagen does quite well, but nothing in comparison. It is my Mousetrap .”

• Michael Frayn
• The Observer

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Alexander Hanson (Lloyd), Pepter Lunkuse (Poppy), Tamzin Outhwaite (Belinda), Jonathan Coy (Fredrick), Felicity Kendal (Dotty), Mathew Horne (Garry). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Felicity Kendal (Dotty). Photo by Nobby Clark.

James Fleet (Selsdon). Photo by Nobby Clark.

James Fleet (Selsdon) and Pepter Lunkuse (Poppy). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Mathew Horne (Garry). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Mathew Horne (Garry) and Sasha Frost (Brooke). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Oscar Batterham (Tim). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Oscar Batterham (Tim), Alexander Hanson (Lloyd) and James Fleet (Selsdon). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Sasha Frost (Brooke), Felicity Kendal (Dotty), Alexander Hanson (Lloyd) and Tamzin Outhwaite (Belinda). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Tamzin Outhwaite (Belinda). Photo by Nobby Clark.

Tamzin Outhwaite (Belinda), Mathew Horne (Garry), Jonathan Coy (Fredrick) and Felicity Kendal (Dotty). Photo by Nobby Clark.

After a triumphant run in the West End earlier this year, an all star cast returns in one of the greatest comedies ever written.  Felicity Kendal , Jonathan Coy and Alexander Hanson  are joined by Gavin & Stacey’s  Mathew Horne  and star of Eastenders and The Tower,  Tamzin Outhwaite and star of The Vicar of Dibley and Four Weddings and a Funeral,  James Fleet .

Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill – a play within a play.

Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on and offstage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On. From the shambolic final rehearsals before the opening night in Weston-Super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, we share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

Dotty Otley - Felicity Kendal

Fredrick Fellowes - Jonathan Coy

Lloyd Dallas - Alexander Hanson

Garry Lejeune - Mathew Horne

Belinda Blair - Tamzin Outhwaite

Brooke Ashton - Sasha Frost

Poppy Norton-Taylor - Pepter Lunkuse

Tim - Oscar Batterham

Selsdon - James Fleet

Written By - Michael Frayn

Director - Lindsay Posner

Designer - Simon Higlett

Lighting Designer - Paul Pyant

Sound Designer - Greg Clarke

Composer - Will Stuart

Movement and Fight Director - Ruth Cooper-Brown

Associate Director - George Jibson

Casting Director - Ginny Schiller

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Unlike film, theatre doesn't have an official age classification organisation. That means all age recommendations are subjective and should be treated as guidelines unless otherwise stated. With this in mind, we ask you to use your judgement in regards to a show’s suitability prior to purchase. However, we are more than happy to help you make a decision. Please email [email protected] to find out more about your chosen show.

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