The Last Laugh: John Morrison on Why the Art of Farce Is an Extremely Serious Business

Morrison, John Gordon, New Statesman (1996)

Michael Frayn's Democracy might well be this year's best play, but his lasting reputation as a dramatist rests on a far more serious work. No, I don't mean Copenhagen, but the 1982 farce Noises Off, which he rewrote for a National Theatre revival in October 2000. From the moment Patricia Hodge first teetered across the Lyttelton stage, balancing a plate of sardines, this production by Jeremy Sams set a new standard for farce. It has recently closed after a three-year run, which involved successive spells in the West End, and touring just about everywhere, including New York. Good farce is a desperately serious business, which is why there is so little of it about. "Michael spent ten …

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Publication information: Article title: The Last Laugh: John Morrison on Why the Art of Farce Is an Extremely Serious Business. Contributors: Morrison, John Gordon - Author. Magazine title: New Statesman (1996). Volume: 132. Issue: 4669 Publication date: January 5, 2004. Page number: 32. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group.

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