We re-visit stage comedy (in more ways than one) on Thursday the 7th of October

 We are continuing with the "stage comedy" theme next Thursday, after last week's screening of The Importance of Being Earnest.


Noises Off began life as a stage comedy which premiered in London's West End in 1982. It is a farce about a farce, which presumably makes it a meta-farce. 

This meta-farcical comedy(!) centres around a company of actors rehearsing (and then performing) a play (entitled Nothing On) which becomes increasingly incoherent as the story progresses. 


The original stage version is a merciless (and painfully funny) analysis of just how a farce works - or doesn't work, as the case may be.

The film adaptation cranks things up a notch by attempting to film the staging of... the staging of a farce (a meta-meta-farce?) and in the process shows just how difficult it can be to translate a stage play to the screen. 

While the film may not be 100% successful, it does manage to be one of the funniest things you will ever see (the first time I saw it, I laughed so hard I thought I was going to injure myself).

The decision to film it with a mostly American cast was slightly controversial in some circles, but it actually serves to draw a greater contrast between the (American) actors and the (British) characters they are playing on stage.

We will be screening Noises Off at the Victoria Park Baptist Church on Thursday the 7th of October, at 7.30. Come along and see for yourself!


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