Noises Off – Storyhouse Chester
A packed Storyhouse laughed out loud at a comedy that still manages to deliver.
It’s over 40 years since Michael Frayn wrote Noises Off, which has been described as ‘the funniest farce’ and is probably the inspiration for the ‘Goes Wrong’ series that is now popular. Bedroom Farce was a type of theatre in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but then fell out of popularity when public sensibilities saw them as sexist and rather degrading. Noises Off is a play within a play about the farcical antics of a theatre company trying to present ‘Nothing On’ - an actual farce. Frayn shows that what goes on backstage is often funnier than what happens on stage but when it all gets mixed up, it’s hilarious. There have been many plays since that revisit this subject: David Tristam’s Little Grimley Series might...
