Noises Off is a play in three acts, showing what is happening on stage and behind the scenes while a chaotic theatre company is performing "Nothing On."
Act one shows the group during the dress rehearsal late at night. However, with only a few hours before the premiere, things run anything but smoothly. Dotty, for example, keeps forgetting where to take and leave her props, while other actors forget their lines and struggle with a faulty set. For example, doors that should open won't open, while doors that should close won't close. Therefore, Lloyd, the director, starts to lose his temper and resorts to sarcasm. As if the disorder were not enough already, Selsdon, an older actor with a drinking problem, keeps getting lost. Slowly but surely, the actors' relationships deteriorate and leave the audience wondering if they will get their performances right during the actual show.
For the second act, the stage is turned around, so the audience is able to see what happens behind the scenes during a midweek matinee a month after the premiere. With plenty of slammed doors and hostilities, it is clear that the actors' relationships have become dysfunctional, which also affects the production, as cues are missed, lines are forgotten, and actors are unwilling to turn up.
The third act takes place during the closing night performance of "Nothing On." The play and the characters are barely holding together, as personal feuds escalate and none of the actors seems to care for the production any longer. In the end, the disaster is sealed by the curtain burying the actors on stage.
"Nothing On," the play within the play, is an English bedroom farce. Roger Tramplemain, an estate agent who is in charge of renting the Brent's house, has a rendezvous with Vicky, pretending that the house is his own. However, it turns out that the housekeeper, Mrs. Clackett, is still around because she wants to spend a quiet afternoon watching TV and eating sardines. Later, the house owners Philip and Flavia Brent come back unexpectedly to make out as well. They have to keep their presence secret because they are trying to avoid the revenue department--and miss running into the other couple several times. In the end, a Sheik who is interested in the property arrives, as well as an elderly burglar, who turns out to be Vicky's father.
