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Noises Off

By Michael Frayn
Series: Modern Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Noises Off is a brilliant play-within-a-play by Michael Frayn that follows a touring theatre company rehearsing and performing a comedy called Nothing On. The story captures the chaotic backstage antics as the cast struggles through a dress rehearsal, a disastrous matinee, and a total meltdown in various UK towns. Known for its rapid pace and comedic precision, the play offers a riotous blend of farce and sharp reality.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This multi-award-winning comedy is perfect for fans of sharp wit, classic British farce, and theatre enthusiasts eager to enjoy a masterclass in comedic timing and backstage misadventures.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

“As finely worked as a Swiss watch and as funny as the human condition permits ... the zigzag brilliance of the text as the clunky lines of the farce-within-a-farce rub against the sharp dialogue of reality.” The Guardian

A play-within-a-play following a touring theatre company who are rehearsing and performing a comedy called Nothing On, results in a riotous double-bill of comedic craft and dramatic skill.

Hurtling along at breakneck speed, it shows the backstage antics as they stumble through the dress-rehearsal at Weston-super-Mare, then on to a disastrous matinee at Ashton-under-Lyne, followed by a total meltdown in Stockton-on-Tees.

Michael Frayn's irresistible, multi-award-winning backstage farce has been enjoyed by millions of people worldwide since it premiered in 1982 and has been hailed as one of the greatest British comedies ever written.

Winner of both Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Comedy.

This edition features a new introduction by Michael Blakemore.

Series: Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Guardian praises it as “as finely worked as a Swiss watch and as funny as the human condition permits,” highlighting the clever interplay between the farce and reality. The Telegraph calls it “a spot on parody” with “almost mathematical elegance.” The New York Times describes it as “a classic farce and a fiendishly ingenious homage to the form” that is “raucously delightful.”

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781350184855

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 February 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Methuen Drama

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 158g

Pages: 184

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Arts & Culture Michael Frayn Non-Fiction Series: Modern Classics

About the Author

Michael Frayn was born in London in 1933 and began his career as a journalist on the Guardian and the Observer. He has written seventeen plays, including Noises Off, Copenhagen, and Democracy, translated Chekhov’s last four plays, and adapted his first as Wild Honey. His screenplays include Clockwise, starring John Cleese, and among his eleven novels are The Tin Men, Towards the End of the Morning, Headlong, Spies, and Skios. Collections of articles include Collected Columns, Stage Directions, and Travels with a Typewriter. He has also published two philosophical works, Constructions and The Human Touch, and a memoir, My Father’s Fortune. His most recent publications are three collections of short entertainments, Matchbox Theatre, Pocket Playhouse, and Magic Mobile. He is married to the writer Claire Tomalin.

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