40th Anniversary Production of comedy Noises Off to open at Bath Theatre Royal this week

The 40th anniversary staging of Noises Off, one of the greatest British comedies ever written, opens in Bath later this month with a stellar cast led by Felicity Kendal, Jonathan Coy, Matthew Kelly, and Tracy-Ann Oberman. 

Director Lindsay Posner’s new production of Michael Frayn’s award-winning farce will appear at the Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 22 September to Saturday 1 October, prior to a UK tour.

Michael Frayn’s celebrated play serves up a riotous double bill, a play within a play. Hurtling along at breakneck speed, Noises Off follows the on-and-off-stage antics of a touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On. From the shambolic final rehearsals before opening night in Weston-Super-Mare, to a disastrous matinee in Ashton-Under-Lyme seen entirely, and hilariously silently, from backstage, before audiences share their final, brilliantly catastrophic performance in Stockton-on-Tees.

 One of the UK’s best-loved actors, Felicity Kendal, stars as Dotty Otley. Her many screen roles have included Barbara Good in BBC’s The Good Life, Gemma in Solo, Helena in The Camomile Lawn, Maxine in The Mistress (which was filmed in Bath) and Rosemary in ITV’s Rosemary & Thyme. Felicity took part in BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. In a multi award-winning stage career, she has starred in numerous West End productions including Clouds, winning the Variety Club Best Actress of the Year Award, and Ivanov with Alan Bates, for which she won the Evening Standard Best Actress Award; Amadeus, Othello, On the Razzle, Arcadia and Humble Boy at the National Theatre, and Anything Goes in the West End in 2021. Her fifteen previous productions at the Theatre Royal include The Argument in 2019; Relatively Speaking in 2012 and 2013, and Hay Fever in 2014, both of which enjoyed West End success; as well as A Room with a View in 2016, Mrs Warren’s Profession in 2009, The Vortex in 2008, Amy’s View in 2006, Happy Days in 2003 and Fallen Angels in 2000, all of which transferred to the West End. 

Jonathan Coy stars as Frederick Fellowes. His numerous television credits include Downton Abbey, Parade’s End, Pete Versus Life, The Old Curiosity Shop, Doc Martin, Rumpole of the Bailey, Hornblower, Foyle's War and Brideshead Revisited. His many theatre credits include Nicholas Nickleby and The Bargain, both of which toured to Bath in 2007; the National Theatre productions of The Power of Yes and Democracy; the West End productions of Noises Off, Donkey’s Years, What the Butler Saw, Neville’s Island, Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant, and Lindsay Posner’s production of Relatively Speaking alongside Felicity Kendal, which played Bath in 2012 and 2013 before transferring to the West End.

Olivier Award-winning actor Matthew Kelly stars as Selsdon Mowbray. His West End credits include Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen and Roger Rees, Big The Musical, Funny Peculiar, Lend Me A Tenor!, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Sign of the Times and the role of Lennie in Of Mice and Men, for which he received the Olivier Award for Best Actor. His recent theatre credits include starring as Sir in The Dresser at Bath’s Theatre Royal and on UK tour in 2021;

Alan Bennett's The Habit of Art; Troilus and Cressida at Shakespeare's Globe and Pride and Prejudice at Regent’s Park, which toured to Bath in 2017. Since 1983, Matthew’s previous eight productions at the Theatre Royal have also included Educating Rita in 2012 and Toast in 2016. His television credits include the award-winning drama Cold Blood, Bleak House, Benidorm, Moving On and, as a presenter, the hit television series You Bet! and Stars in their Eyes.

Tracy-Ann Oberman, who stars as Belinda Blair, is well known for her many television roles including Chrissie Watts in over 200 episodes of EastEnders; Fiona Kennedy in New Tricks; Mrs Purchase in Toast of London; Val in Friday Night Dinner; Rebecca in After Life and Helen Chambers in Code 404. Her stage credits range from Edmond with Kenneth Branagh to the West End run of Boeing Boeing. Previously at Bath’s Theatre Royal, she has performed in Macbeth in 1994, The Vagina Monologues in 2010, Earthquakes in London in 2011 and Stepping Out in 2016, which transferred to the West End. 

The role of Garry Lejeune is played by Joseph Millson. A regular on our television screens, Joseph’s credits include Peak Practice, Holby City, Casino Royale, The Last Kingdom, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Van der Valk. His previous appearances at the Theatre Royal Bath include Betrayal in 2020, As You Like It in 2003 and Salad Days in 1997. Sasha Frost, who appears as Brooke Ashton, recently played the witch Reina Miti in BBC1’s adaptation of His Dark Materials. Her television credits also include The Outlaws, Doctors, Defending the Guilty, Privates, Sunny D, Agatha Raisin and Beautality. Her stage credits include Red Dust Road for the National Theatre of Scotland; Our Country’s Good at Bristol’s Tobacco Factory; The Lightning Child at Shakespeare’s Globe; Suspension at Bristol Old Vic, and the UK tour of Sunnymead Court, which played Bath’s Ustinov Studio in 2021. Alexander Hanson, whose many television credits include Father Brown, Endeavour, The Fugitives and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, appears as Lloyd Dallas. The cast is completed by Pepter Lunkuse as Poppy Norton Taylor and Hubert Burton as Tim Allgood.

Lindsay Posner is one of the UK’s most accomplished directors of comedy. His previous production of Noises Off enjoyed a sell-out run at London’s Old Vic. His many acclaimed West End productions include Hay Fever and Relatively Speaking, both of which starred Felicity Kendal and also played Bath. At the Theatre Royal Bath, Lindsay has also previously directed She Stoops to Conquer in 2015, The Truth in 2016, God of Carnage in 2018 and Stones in his Pockets in 2019. He was Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre from 1987 to 1992, where his production of Death and the Maiden transferred to the West End winning two Olivier Awards. In the West End, he has also directed Butley, Abigail’s Party, A View from the Bridge, An Ideal Husband and Uncle Vanya. 

An award-winning novelist, playwright and journalist, Michael Frayn’s diverse work for theatre also includes Copenhagen, Donkeys’ Years, Democracy, Alphabetical Order, Benefactors, Clouds, Balmoral and Afterlife. His first film, Clockwise starring John Cleese, was released in 1986. His second film, First and Last, won an Emmy Award in 1990. He wrote Noises Off after watching, from the wings, his 1970 farce The Two of Us starring Richard Briers and Lynn Redgrave, and noting that the goings on behind the scenes were funnier than out front. The original stage production of Noises Off opened in London in 1982 before becoming a worldwide hit. It was later made into a film starring Michael Caine, Carol Burnett and Christopher Reeve in 1992.

Noises Off appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 22 September to Saturday 1 October. To book tickets, contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on +44 (0)1225 448844 or book online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.