Noises Off
Playwright: Michael Frayn
Maddie, Paxton, Garrett, Alexa
Basic Information
• Noises Off is a comedic play written by
Michael Frayn, who wrote it with the basic
explanation that sometimes, being backstage
can be more fun or interesting than it is on
stage
• This play was performed for the first time on
February 23, 1982
Plot synopsis (act 1)
The play begins during the final dress
rehearsal late night at the grand theatre for the
regional tour of the new British farce, Nothing
On. Tension between actors and stage directors is
running high. Lloyd Dallas, the director has the
main concern that his leading actress, Dotty is
suddenly forgetting all her lines and blocking. As
the rehearsal goes on we find out more about the
relationships between the actors and actresses
which eventually leads to tears, arguments,
sickness and nose bleeds before they even reach
the end of their act 1 run through.
Plot Synopsis (act 2)
Set a month later the play, Nothing On, is
now up and running as the cast is about to
perform a matinee show. In this act the action
takes place backstage where we find even
more affairs, fights, tears (etc.) than we did in
act 1. Threats of leaving are made by actors,
props are misplaces, pranks are played, and
the performance is a mess. We end this act
with Dotty revealing to Lloyd that she is
pregnant.
Plot Synopsis (act 3)
Nothing On is now ending it’s 10 week tour
and is about to be performed at the Municipal
Theatre. This is when the fun begins to happen,
they can’t get the play going on time, much less
figure out how many minutes they said were left
until the show started. The show beings and lines
are lost, blocking is confused, the act becomes
horrible. Towards the end, however, under Lloyd
the cast manages to carry the play towards a sort
of happy ending
Inciting Incident
• Dotty (Mrs.Clackett) messes up her line for the
first time in the first act of the play inside the
play
Climax
• At the end of their 10 week run its show time
and all the actors in the play begin to crumble
under their own personal stress causing them
to begin adlibbing and messing up in front of
their live audience
Major Issues
•
•
•
•
Betrayal
Alcohol
Jealousy
Misuse and misplacement of sardines
Theme
• The drama of real life can interfere with the
drama in theatre (an act) if you aren’t careful
Characters
• Tim Allgood- stage manager for Nothing On,
Freddy’s double in a scene and the understudy
for all male roles. He is incredibly tired and
overworked.
• Brooke Ashton- relatively new to acting,
appears in Nothing On as a tax collector, Vicki.
She ends up being stuck in a love triangle with
Lloyd and Poppy
Characters (cont)
• Belinda Blair- a former dancer, a successful
actress, and plays the role of Flavia Brent in
Nothing On. She is the most supportive
towards her fellow actors about their personal
problems.
• Lloyd Dallas- director of Nothing On, seems to
be always tired and despirate to get things
done. Is part of the love triangle with Poppy
and Brooke.
Characters (cont x2)
• Fredrick Fellowes- a seasoned actor best
known for his TV hospital dramas, plays the
roles of Phillip Brent and the Sheikh in
Nothing On. Comes across as very nervous in
general.
• Garry Lejeune- fairly-known actor and is the
estate agent, Roger Tramplemain in Nothing
On. He has a secret relationship with Dotty. He
is very positive and tries to bring people up.
Characters (x3)
• Selsdon Mowbray- an elderly shakespearean
actor and plays the role of a burglar in Nothing
On. He’s unfocused and a drunk.
• Poppy Norton-Taylor- assistant stage manager
and understudy for all female roles in Nothing
On. She is very open to “relationships” with
various men in this play
• Dotty Otley- the leading actress playing
Mrs.Clackett in Nothing On. Very clumsy and
forgetful.
Protagonist
The protagonist in this play is the director,
Lloyd. All he really wants to do is put on a
good show but his actors won’t cooperate
with him.
Antagonist
The antagonist of this play is Dotty. She is
very forgetful which causes blocking and lines
to be messed up. This affects not only the
other actors, but the show of our protagonist,
Lloyd.
Setting
• The set of the livingroom of the Brent’s
country home in the play within Noises off
and the backstage area
• wednesday afternoons (3 different theatres) in
the months of January (the 14th), February
(the 13th) and April (the 6th)
Vocabulary
• Sheikh(in Islamic countries) the patriarch of a tribe or
family; chief
• PigeonhouseA compartmental structure, often raised on a
pole, for housing domesticated pigeons
• Parcela thing or collection of things wrapped in
paper in order to be carried or sent
Vocabulary (cont.)
• Bric-a-bracmiscellaneous objects and ornaments of little
value
• Mezzaninea low story between two others in a building,
typically between the ground and first floors.
• Posseta British hot drink of milk curdled with wine or
ale, often spiced, which was popular from
medieval times to the 19th century
Vocab (cont x2)
• Prospective tenantlandlord that can collect taxes and release
background checks to new landlords
• VATvalue-added tax is a form of consumption tax.
From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on
the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a
tax only on the value added to a product,
material, or service, from an accounting point of
view, by this stage of its manufacture or
distribution.
Vocab (contx3)
• Airing cupboarda storage space, sometimes of walk-in
dimensions, containing a water heater; either an
immersion heater for hot running water or a
boiler for central heating water
• Ballcocksa valve that automatically fills a tank after liquid
has been drawn from it. Used, for example, in a
flush toilet, a ballcock has a float on the end of a
pivoting arm that opens the valve when the arm
drops.
References
• Stockon-on-tees
a market in North East England a large town
that houses a lot of smaller towns
• Peebles- an area in South East Scotland
including the upper course of the Tweed
What we liked
We really enjoyed the comedic aspects of the
play along with the characters that were
brought more and more to life as the plot
went on. We also like the confusion that came
along with the “play inside a play” aspect.
What we didn’t like
We didn’t like how we got lost multiple
times between what parts were part of the
actual play or what was part of the play within
this play. We feel like this play would be a lot
better to watch than it was to read it.
Recommend
we would recommend this play to any
teacher that could use in in a theatrical
environment. It shows the characteristics of
being both on and off stage at a performance.
It has many critical points of putting together
an act that are shown in the preparation of
the play within the play.
Mrs. Clackett’s Monologue
Performed by Garrett
Pages 14-15