Noises Off
About the show
Roundabout presents this farcical play-within-a-play, complete with plates of sardines, semi-dressed ingenues, and slamming doors aplenty.
... Read more'Noises Off' is a first-rate comedy about a second-rate theatre company staging a third-rate play. The opening night performance of the farce 'Nothing On' is just hours away, and as the cast stumbles through their final dress rehearsal, things couldn't be going any worse. With lines being forgotten, love triangles unraveling and sardines flying everywhere, it’s complete pandemonium before they reach intermission. Can the cast pull their act together on the stage even if they can't behind the scenes?
"The second act in particular is a whirligig of slapstick choreography for whose pristine execution Mr. Herrin deserves the highest possible marks. The secret ingredient of his production is that Mr. Herrin has gone to similar lengths to ensure that every member of the cast plays for truth, not laughs—which makes you laugh twice as hard…Complaints? I’ve got none. This show is flawless." Full Review
"This cast is so well-matched that they really do seem to have been working together for months….Indeed, the astonishing thing about the contrivances is that, in a well-judged production like this one, they eventually break into yet another sphere…How something can be both nonsense and (in the context of the play) inevitable is a great and beautiful mystery, one that makes 'Noises Off' not just one of the funniest plays ever written but one of the best." Full Review
"'Noises Off' has to be one of the funniest farces ever written…Director Jeremy Herrin has crafted a piece saturated in comic brilliance. He has utilized the comedy lurking in every available moment and has created a rollercoaster of inspired hilarity…The cast are so brilliant you want your own action figures of them…I loved everything about this show." Full Review
"This nearly perfect British farce is getting another spectacular revival…This team is perfection, making it all look so easy and seamless. All should be credited with the word, ‘spectacular’...The only complaint I have of this whole shows lies in the portrayal of love and attraction... I can’t say I ever believed in the love or the affairs, I never really saw it, nor felt it...This cast of professionals are spot on perfect, never missing a beat or failing to get the laugh. Full Review
"Jeremy Herrin's revival is hilarious...'Noises Off' takes a cast of superb actors who are masters at physical comedy. The play has to be choreographed as completely as a ballet. The timing has to be perfect. One could not ask for a better cast than that appearing at the Roundabout. Andrea Martin is brilliant as always. Everyone else is fine, but I have to give special recognition to Megan Hilty's screamingly funny, uncoordinated dumb blond and Rob McClure's frantic stage manager." Full Review
"The revival of 'Noises Off' is not only consistently funny, but a wonderment in precision acting and movement...Director Jeremy Herrin deserves special commendation for the exactitude he brings to the production and his meticulousness to detail. He guides the cast, with both nuanced, subtle performances as well as outright uproariousness, producing an always lively, very funny show." Full Review
"It's easy to see why 'Noises Off' is a theatrical favorite. And the current incarnation, with a superb cast hits the mark. Hilty's goofy blonde clicks, while Martin, a Broadway staple, doesn't miss a beat. Director Jeremy Herrin has assembled a sharp ensemble that delivers comedy gold." Full Review
"Farce requires exceptional expertise, which is certainly there in full steam in the wonderfully-cast revival of 'Noises Off.' The show is a sure-fire prescription for all who are seeking the kind of belly laughs to be heard at Roundabout Theater Company’s production under the blissful direction of Jeremy Herrin." Full Review
"There are several surprising things about Roundabout’s revival of Michael Frayn’s 1982 madcap farce. The first is almost consistent laughter erupting somewhere in the audience over the course of three acts (with one intermission). Three acts without a slump in energy or imagination. Even if you’re not an aficionado of slapstick, masterful direction and wonderful casting will get under your skin and broadly tickle." Full Review
"They’re rolling in the aisles at the Roundabout, where 'Noises Off' is having a rollicking revival...Herrin choreographs the chaos with precision and split-second timing, and the cast is uniformly superb. Frayn doesn’t miss an opportunity to poke fun at every aspect of the theatre – down to the last detail...The flawless Roundabout production is an utter delight." Full Review
"In Jeremy Herrin’s splendid new production, 'Noises Off' once again inspires gales of laughter from theatergoers. Frayn’s conceit for the show couldn’t be more inspired…In what might be the show-stealing performance among a group of terrific comic performances, Megan Hilty plays Brooke to the hilt." Full Review
"A cast that is simply an embarrassment of riches…This is just fabulous. Particularly with a farce, it's all in the timing, and director Herrin gets it just right…Doors slam at just the right moment; a treacherous phone cords wraps so diabolically around a characters; an axe is caught, one-handed, in the nick of time. And this cast…The standout is the luminescent Megan Hilty…We knew she was good, but with this role, Hilty raises the bar for comedic acting." Full Review
"This 'Noises Off' is splendidly delirious fun…A perfectly-calibrated production which brings full value to Frayn's text while adding layers of visual humor that leaves audiences hooting with delight…Herrin's production is slam-bang, knockdown funny…Director Herrin has pulled out all the stops with this 'Noises Off,' with a fair share of the credit due the insanely warped mind of Michael Frayn, who dreamed the contraption up." Full Review
"Michael Frayn's farce about putting on a stage farce is breathlessly clever and funny, a staple of the contemporary theater repertoire. How can it be made even funnier? The Roundabout Theatre Company somehow has found a way...An all-star group of comedic talents allowed to run riot…Everyone onstage has to believe that the risks are real, and this new ensemble never mugs or winks. They are utterly, terribly good at being bad, which is meant as a supreme compliment." Full Review
"The funniest backstage comedy ever written…Director Jeremy Herrin painstakingly sets up the dominoes in a muted first act, only to knock them down in spectacular fashion in the second, and dynamite them in the third...Cheeky design, a highly talented ensemble, and perfect comic timing: This 'Noises Off' has the right combination of elements to make the perpetually funny comedy soar. If you're looking for a night of gut-busting hilarity, you can't do any better than this one." Full Review
"Director Jeremy Herrin and his near-consummate cast have achieved a feat I'd previously deemed impossible: They've unlocked more complexities in 'Nothing On,' the thoroughly absurd play-within-a-play…'Nothing On' means something powerful to each and every person putting it on…It's to Herrin's immense credit that so many of the thousand jokes still hit their targets, when they never seem to be his prevailing goal." Full Review
"For 'Noises Off' to work on a basic level, its thoroughly intricate physical activity must be staged with the precision of a ballet. But a great production, which this revival certainly is, builds the slapstick around truthful performances, thus making the chaos feel natural…Act Two is a tour-de-force of silent comedy…Jeremy Herrin has brought together a dynamic ensemble cast of stage veterans." Full Review
"The heady, headlong and altogether hilarious farce providing generous doses of heat-generating laughter as the winter chill finally sets in…Once it hits its lively stride, Mr. Herrin’s production rollicks along with machine-tooled precision, churning out belly laughs as if from an assembly line…'Noises Off' would be a mere dissertation in clever dramaturgical mechanics, were it not for the expertly drawn characters, here embodied by a first-rate cast." Full Review
"An uproarious new revival solidly mounted by Jeremy Herrin, featuring a fantastic ensemble of seasoned stage actors strutting their stuff…The gifted clown Andrea Martin is just darling as Dotty…Jeremy Shamos is very funny as the good-natured, but nervous wreck Frederick, and has a bit of physical business about regaining his footing that might very well get him nominated for an Astaire Award…'Noises Off' is a night of wild, frenetic fun." Full Review
"Funny lady Andrea Martin leads the nimble cast of this well-tooled revival...Martin who was born to make us laugh, is a perfect hoot in the pivotal role of the scatterbrained actress…On the laugh meter, Act I is only so-so. But as a setup for the next two acts, it’s brilliant. Act II is bust-a-gut funny…'Noises Off' seems to be always playing somewhere in the civilized world...And that’s exactly the way it should be, because this kind of comedic brilliance never gets stale." Full Review
"A cumulatively virtuosic nine-expert ensemble of smart and fearless comic actors…British director Jeremy Herrin turns out to have a shrewd silly streak…The comedy in the first of three acts feels a little forced. But Herrin soon catapults the physical and verbal humor headlong into increasingly inspired opportunities to watch characters play out their real lives while trying to perform the complications of their second-rate play." Full Review
"Director Jeremy Herrin achieves just the right blend of anxiety, ambition, and a combination of ego and dimness in the characters...Everyone featured in the cast in praiseworthy...It would be difficult to imagine that any production could better represent the slamming doors, absurdly broad characters, and truly breathtaking pratfalls." Full Review
"Crackling new revival...As directed by Jeremy Herrin, the result hops over the contrivances of the script, balancing pure silliness with awesome precision while making you realize how important terrific actors are to this play about terrible actors." Full Review
"Jeremy Herrin’s production features an ensemble of top-notch comedic actors, each bringing a special something that results in 2 ½ hours of non-stop laughter...Watching this show provides the second-best cardio in the city, topped only by the ceaseless energy of the actors onstage." Full Review
"Director Jeremy Herrin's superlative staging mines Frayn's crammed script for every one of its minute details, all on Derek McLane's extraordinary set...If Act III dips somewhat, it's only because Act I is a procession of wonderfully observed mishaps while the largely wordless Act II is an unequaled display of slapstick that even the best mimes could only hope to equal...As peerless as the cast of this unmissable revival of 'Noises Off' is, Hilty provides a comedic acting class by herself." Full Review
See it if Andrea Martin, Megan Hilty and company. Laugh-a-minute.
Don't see it if Cannot handle fast-shooting, dizzying humor.
See it if you want a good laugh - this play is hilarious! Especially if you've ever worked in any kind of theatre....
Don't see it if you're looking for a drama.
See it if you want to see one of the most impeccable farces ever written and performed! Literally could not catch my breath from laughing!
Don't see it if farce isn't your thing.
See it if you like slapstic comedy
Don't see it if if you don't like slapstick
See it if Great pacing and comedic timing. A very nice revival.
Don't see it if you won't, it closed.
See it if you love to laugh -- this is an absolutely brilliant farce bursting with meticulously-choreographed physical comedy. So much fun!!
Don't see it if you're a grump.
See it if You want to laugh out loud. You're like a top-notch, stellar cast such as Campbell Scott, David Furr, Megan Hilty & more. You like the film.
Don't see it if You don't like theater (it's about people working on a play and you see parts of the play twice, once from backstage & once onstage).
See it if you want to see a perfect comedy.
Don't see it if you only like drama
See it if you like farce.
Don't see it if you would expect a LOL moment.
See it if you can get past the play being dated and want to see a talented ensemble act the hell out of this comedy, Megan Hilty's stunt on the stairs
Don't see it if you don't like farce or would find endless repetition too boring to appreciate the comical nuances
See it if you like classic "people-rushing-in-and-out-of-doors" comedies done well!
Don't see it if screwball comedies make you sad and cry
See it if Knockout comedy performances - especially David Furr and Megan Hilty - and a very clever door slamming farce.
Don't see it if You want something heavy and significant.
See it if you want to laugh a lot. Great performances and great direction. Non-stop fun
Don't see it if you hate British accents and fun
See it if you like ensembles who seem to be having a ton of fun together; you appreciate sight gags; you like plays about/within plays
Don't see it if you want something serious / that takes itself seriously
See it if you like broad humor, constant rushing on and off stage, and door slamming
Don't see it if you don't like broad humor, constant rushing on and off stage, and door slamming. It can get loud and almost anxiety producing
See it if You like farces, funny plays, and whirlwinds!
Don't see it if You don't like laughing.
See it if you enjoy physical comedy and jokes that build. I didn't laugh much in act 1 but it worked for me once the repetition kicked in.
Don't see it if you don't enjoy physical comedy and somewhat juvenile, cliched humor, well-done as it might be.
See it if you want to see something silly and over the top.
Don't see it if you don't like repetition.
See it if You love an intricately constructed play that's absolutely hysterical
Don't see it if You don't like farce; this one is all about the farce
See it if you are looking for a fluffy, hilarious, quick-paced comedy.
Don't see it if you don't like British accents or farce
See it if you want to laugh out loud and cry from laughter
Don't see it if you don't like ridiculousness
See it if you enjoy farcical comedy and slapstick humor.
Don't see it if you have a hard time following fast-paced comedy.
See it if you have never seen this show before; it's a well executed production (all about the timing); Megan Hilty is hilarious!
Don't see it if you've seen it before (nothing new here); you don't like slap stick-ish comedy; thin plot, all about the sight gags and an amateur theater
See it if you like slap-stick comedy. I really wanted to like it but I just didn't get the appeal. I loved all the actors save the story/cheesy factor
Don't see it if you prefer musicals or shows that may be more direct. maybe it was an off night for me!
See it if If you are an Andrea Martin fan
Don't see it if if you don't like slapstick
Cast & Creatives (16)
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