“Noises Off” by Michael Frayn - For Schools
Ektoras Lygizos
Dates
Tickets
Venue
Time & Date
Information
Cost
5 € per student
Reservation and more info:
T. 213 017 8002
Email: education@onassis.org
General
For high school students
Introduction
This year at the Stegi all Noises are Offstage! The stage rotates by 180 degrees and the audience witness the pandaemonium that reigns backstage, as a troupe are trying to stage a theatrical farce.
A veritable pandaemonium reigns backstage during any theatrical performance—even more so when that performance is a theatrical farce! In “Noises Off” nothing goes according to plan; sets are shaky, costumes get ripped, actors forget their lines, stage hands fall down the stairs, and sardine dishes get mixed up with flower bouquets.
Taking his cue from the comedy convention of “what goes on backstage”, Michael Frayn wrote the classic farce “Noises Off” in 1982, inviting audiences to take a sneak peek at the agonizing efforts of a theatrical troupe to keep their show going, just as everything seems to be falling to pieces.
Ektoras Lygizos directs this classic British farce with vertiginous verve; he and his eight actors will make you wonder “What goes on when everything goes wrong?”
Photo: Andreas Simopoulos
Michael Frayn (b. 1933) is a British playwright, novelist and essayist, famous for his theatrical farce “Noises Off” (1982) and his history dramas “Copenhagen” (1998) and “Democracy” (2003).
In Frayn’s first one-act play, the audience were asked to witness a change of diaper on stage.
Michael Frayn has said that the idea for “Noises Off” came to him as he was watching the premiere of one of his first plays from backstage. “It was a lot more fun watching it from back there!” he thought.
Theatrical director Ektoras Lygizos notes: “Just look at us. We are always in a hurry, trying to get there on time. The farce is a theatrical genre which reflects this hurriedness in a very comical way. How do people react to this tremendous sense of pressure? What happens when they lose control and give up, surrendering to all kinds of unrestrained disorder and chaos? “Noises Off” casts a hilarious glance at what goes on backstage and the power struggle between actors and their director. Just ask yourself, is this any different from the rhythm and dynamics of your everyday life at school or at home?”
