SEDOS

Michael Frayn’s riotous backstage farce Noises Off will have a short run in central London this autumn,
thanks to the City’s premier amateur theatre company, Sedos. Noises Off plays from 15-24 October at the Bridewell, just off Fleet Street, where Sedos is the resident theatre company.

The show lifts the curtain on the backstage drama of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through rehearsals to a shambolic first night and a final disastrous performance. It’s a world where doors get stuck, sardines go missing, actors become glued to props, scantily-clad women search for lost bags and lines are dropped nearly as frequently as the leading man’s trousers.

Noises Off provides tough challenges for the director and cast as they create both the characters of the real actors who populate the show and the roles they take in the play within the play, Nothing On.

And the virtually silent 20-minute mime of Act Two, as the audience watch the show from backstage, is renowned for its difficulty.

The show also demands a great deal of the production team, who must create a set which turns to allow the audience to see both the front and back of it.

Set designer Steven King also worked with Matt on the acclaimed set for last year’s Sedos production of Into the Woods, which won the Shinfield Players Scenic Award from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA).