- By KEN WERTHER
In 1983, New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich called Noises Off, “the funniest play written in my lifetime.” The Broadway cast starred Dorothy Loudon, Victor Garber, Deborah Rush, Brian Murray, Linda Thorson, Paxton Whitehead, Jim Piddock, Douglas Seale, and Amy Wright. The play is a farce written by English playwright Michael Frayn who had conceived the idea 13 years earlier in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of The Two of Us, a farce he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, “It was funnier from behind than in front, and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind.” The prototype, a short-lived one-act play called Exits, was written and performed in 1977. Frayn expanded this into what would become Noises Off, which takes its title from the theatrical stage direction indicating sounds coming from offstage. Doors slam, sardines fly, and trousers drop as a theatre company desperately tries to get their act together.
This month, Geffen Playhouse in association with Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago will be presenting Noises Off. Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, the cast features Veneh Assadourian, Amanda Fink, Audrey Francis, Francis Guinan, Rick Holmes, Ora Jones, David Lind, James Vincent Meredith, and Max Stewart. Don’t miss this peek behind the curtain — an uproarious love letter to the theatre. Sardines, people. I mean, come on!
For tickets and show times, click here.
