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Noises Off

Written by: Michael Frayn

Directed by: Nedra Bloom

Performance Dates

  • November 12-15 and 19-22, 2026
    • Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – 7:30 pm
    • Sunday matinee – 2:30 pm

Audition Dates

  • Sunday, September 13, 6:30 pm
  • Monday, September 14, 6:30 pm

Audition Location

  • Chickasaw Civic Theatre
    801 Iroquois Street
    Chickasaw, AL

Cast Requirements

  • The cast requires 4 women and 5 men.
  • The youngest are early 20s; the oldest are retirement age.

Audition Requirements

  • Auditions are open call.
  • Please arrive at the time noted and plan to stay about an hour.
  • Each person will be asked to read in a variety of roles and groups.
  • Please print and bring your audition form (see the link on the left) with you to auditions. (Copies will also be available at auditions.) This form asks for your basic contact information as well as your conflicts between September 21 and November 22.
  • If you have a resume and headshot, you may bring them as well.

Other Information

  • For more information, contact the Stage Director, Nedra Bloom, at nedrabloom@comcast.net

Rehearsals

  • Rehearsals will begin about a week after auditions.
  • Rehearsals will be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings.
  • Additional rehearsals will be added if needed.
  • Tech week begins on Sunday, November 8.

Synopsis

Noises Off is a classic farce — slamming doors, plates of sardines, pratfalls and general nonsense — with a script that only makes limited sense. But Noises Off is among the best of the 20th-century farces because of its remarkable second act.

The entire show is a play within a play as our cast performs the farce Nothing On.

In Act 1, we join the cast and crew for final dress rehearsal at the outset of a lengthy tour. Cast members are still trying to remember their lines and blocking — “And I take the sardines. No, I leave the sardines. No, I take the sardines.” — while the gorgeous two-story set representing a 16th century posset mill (whatever that is) lends its own quirks — for example, door handles that don’t function in a show that depends on well-timed doors. Plus an actress who frequently loses her contact lenses, an elderly cast member who disappears and a variety of romantic liaisons among cast and crew.

In Act 2, that gorgeous two-story set has revolved so that we watch from backstage. The play continues as in Act 1, but it’s now backstage to the audience and everything that’s in view is pantomimed in time to the show they’re performing. By now, cast members are tired of touring, tired of each other and tired of the show.

In Act 3, the set has revolved once again and we watch one of the later performances — perhaps the last — as in Act 1. But if something can go wrong, it probably will as the cast tries desperately just to get through the show with “a nice happy ending.”

Character Breakdown

  • Dotty Otley
    Dotty is a mature actress who is appearing as Mrs. Clackett, the housekeeper, in Nothing On. She has invested money in the production and hopes she will be able to set aside something for her retirement. She is the best known of the performers in Nothing On, but she has trouble remembering lines and blocking. She is romantically involved with much younger Garry Lejeune, who plays the real estate agent, Roger.
  • Lloyd Dallas
    Lloyd is the director of Nothing On, but he’s actually looking forward to getting this show on the road so he can move on to directing Richard III. As the actors struggle, Lloyd gives this very accurate description of how the play should be presented: “If we can just get through the play once tonight for doors and sardines. That’s what it’s all about. Doors and sardines. Getting on — getting off. Getting the sardines on — getting the sardines off. That’s farce. That’s theatre. That’s life.” But while he’s presenting this sage advice, he is also romancing not one but two of the women involved with the show.
  • Garry Lejeune
    Garry plays the real estate agent, Roger. Purportedly showing a client over the property, he is in fact using the place for a tete-a-tete with his girlfriend. Garry is romantically involved with Dotty, at least at first. When he’s being Garry (rather than in character as Roger) he has a tendency to begin a profound statement and just let the words drift away with a “you know what I mean” shrug. Garry falls down the stairs in every performance.
  • Brooke Ashton
    Brooke plays Vicki, who is joining Roger for the tete-a-tete. Brooke is lovely young thing, typecast as Vicki, and spends most of the show rather scantily clad. If it’s complicated, Brooke probably doesn’t get it.
  • Poppy Norton-Taylor
    Poppy is the assistant stage manager. She’s young and inexperienced, good at her job but very literal and not terribly imaginative. She is terrified that she might have to perform if one of the cast members walks out.
  • Frederick Fellows
    Frederick plays Philip Brent in Nothing On. It’s Philip’s house. Philip is a playwright, temporarily living in Spain to avoid British taxes. He and his wife Flavia come back unexpectedly; like the real estate agent and his girlfriend, Philip and Flavia think they are alone in the house except for Mrs. Clackett. As an actor, Frederick is always struggling to find his motivation.
  • Belinda Blair
    Belinda plays Flavia Brent in Nothing On. She is joining Philip for a romantic weekend at their house in England, anxious to avoid discovery by the tax authorities. Like the real estate agent and his girlfriend, Philip and Flavia think they are alone in the house except for Mrs. Clackett. Belinda is the most level-headed of the cast members.
  • Tim Allgood
    Tim is the overworked and underappreciated stage manager. He put up the set, fixes things like doorknobs when they malfunction, handles the company taxes and serves as a generaly flunky for Lloyd. He is occasionally required to fill in for a cast member who is tied up with a costume change.
  • Selsdon Mowbray
    Selsdon plays the burglar in Nothing On. While the main characers are blissfully unaware of one another, the burglar is sneaking in to steal anything that looks the slightest valuable — from the TV (he thinks it’s a microwave) to the ballcocks. Selsdon is certainly old enough to retire and has a drinking problem, but Dotty wants to give him one last chance.