NOISES OFF
By Michael Frayn
Peter Wray, director
Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre
Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. preview
Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, March 11, 12 and 13, 7:30 p.m.
Called the funniest farce ever written, Frayn plays on the concept of a play within a play, in this case a dreadful sex comedy entitled Nothing On?the type of play in which young girls run about in their underwear, old men drop their trousers, and many doors continually open and shut. Nothing On is set in “a delightful 16th-century posset mill” that has been converted to a modern dwelling for which renters are solicited; the fictional playwright is appropriately named Robin Housemonger. Each of the three acts of Noises Off contains a performance of the first act of Nothing On. Much of the comedy emerges from the subtle variations in each version as off-stage chaos affects on-stage performance, with a great deal of slapstick.
Tickets: $12 general admission; $7 seniors and students
