Arena Stage’s production of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off is bound to bring some much-needed laughter – and chaos – into our lives.
A British comedy that premiered in London in 1982 and on Broadway in 1983, Noises Off has won a number of awards, including four Tony Awards, and was adapted into a successful film starring Carol Burnett and Michael Caine in 1992.
Arena Stage’s version is headed by Jonathan Munby, a British director, and is expected to be a nonstop, satire-laden comedic story of a play within a play. A mediocre theater troupe is touring with Nothing On, a farce that is just as mediocre in quality as they are. The chaos-bound troupe gives the audience a first-hand glimpse of the hectic goings-on and mishaps that happen backstage during a performance. Noises Off brings all the forgotten lines, misplaced props and overall bedlam that the cast and crew usually work hard to hide from an audience and drops them right onstage for all to see.
This fun-filled show brings Tony Award nominees Robert Prosky as Selsdon Mowbray and Helen Carey as Dotty Otley as well as a number of other award-winning Arena Stage favorites together for an all-star ensemble. Noises Off runs from Dec. 15 through Jan. 28 in the Kreeger Theatre of Arena Stage. See www.arenastage.org for more information.