NOISES OFF is a view of the backstage workings of "Nothing On", a silly bedroom comedy within the play that has a cast of hams who routinely miss their cues and bungle their lines.
Frayn plays on the concept of a play within a play—the type of play in which young girls run about in their underwear, old men drop their trousers, and many doors continually open and shut. There is a great deal of slapstick and the contrast between players' on-stage and off-stage personalities is also a source of comic dissonance.