SF Playhouse’s “Noises Off” Is a Classic Slapstick Comedy Not to Be Missed!

By Darlene Jurow

     San Francisco Playhouse begins its 23rd season with Michael Frayn’s outrageously funny backstage comedy Noises Off. This comedic 40-plus-year old classic slapstick comedy follows a dysfunctional British theatre troupe struggling to stage the door-slamming farce Nothing On. The drama rages both onstage and behind the scenes as missed cues, misplaced props, and romantic entanglements cause their production to descend into madcap mayhem. Directed by San Francisco Playhouse’s artistic director Bill English, Noises Off  is currently performing through November 8, 2025 at San Francisco Playhouse (450 Post Street).

     “Noises Off showcases its farcical humor as the mayhem goes from a fractured dress rehearsal to a total theatrical bomb! It is not just a great farce, but a great play,” says artistic director Bill English. “Its metatheatrical structure gives it an edge on all other farces, and it brings out the human hidden between the laughs.”

     What makes “Noises Off” such a classic and hysterical comedy is the outstanding cast, featuring the male heartthrob Lloyd Dallas (Joe Ayers), the glamorous actress Belinda Blair (Liz Sklar), the high-strung, yet shy actor Frederick Fellowes (Nima Rakhshanifar), a brassy and attractive but somewhat naïve actor Brooke Ashton (Sophie Alawi), a couple of once-popular has-beens (Julie Eccles  as Dotty Otley and Louis Parnell as Selsdon Mowbray), and, of course, the very comical director (Patrick Russell).  Jamiel St. Rose plays the role of Tim Allgood, the stage manager while Vivienne Truong plays Poppy Norton-Taylor, the anxious assistant stage manager.

     Noises Off features direction by Bill English; scenic design by Heather Kenyon; lighting design by Espen Garner; costume design by Abra Berman; sound design by Sara Witsch; properties design by Amy Benjamin; dialect coaching by Kimberly Mohne Hill; and intimacy direction and fight and stunt direction by Chelsea Pace. Ada May is Stage Manager with Rachel Browne as Assistant Stage Manager. 

     This comedic classic follows a string of recent hit Playhouse productions of fast-paced farces including The Play That Goes Wrong, Clue, and The 39 Steps. Full of slapstick silliness and choreographed chaos, this uproarious comedy follows a dysfunctional British theatre troupe struggling to stage the door-slamming farce Nothing On. The drama rages both onstage and behind the scenes as missed cues, misplaced props, and romantic entanglements cause their production to descend into madcap mayhem. A comedy about a comedy, Noises Off is a real hoot, and is something that you won’t want to miss as it will definitely keep you giggling! It’s the most dexterously realized comedy ever about putting on a comedy.”

     For tickets ($52-$145) and more information, the public may visit sfplayhouse.orgor call the box office at 415-677-9596. 

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Photo caption: The cast and crew (left to right: Liz Sklar, Louis Parnell, Sophia Alawi, Joe Ayers, Patrick Russell, Jamiel St. Rose, Vivienne Truong, Julie Eccles, and Nima Rakhshanifar) pose in San Francisco Playhouse's "Noises Off," currently performing through November 8. (Photo Credit: Jessica Palopoli)