The "escalating chaos on stage and backstage" of the Oamaru Repertory Society’s show Noises Off will be captured perfectly by a revolving set built by the show’s director Andrew Killick.
Mr Killick spent over 120 hours building the 19sqm set that will house the nine-strong cast in the play-within-a-play by Michael Frayn.
The play is a farce about the mounting of a show and follows the antics of a touring theatre troupe as they rehearse and perform a sex comedy called Nothing On.
It "keeps the audience on the seat of their pants".
In theatre terminology, "noises off" refers to commotion off stage. In Frayn’s play the noises are the backstage yelps and battle cries of the actors who find themselves caught in a sex farce of their own.
A joiner by trade, Mr Killick redesigned the whole set to fill the stage dimensions to enhance the comedy in the show.
"The set itself is a character of the play, as are the audience, as they are part of the inner workings of the faux play and what plays out behind the scenes as well," he said.
He said the set build that began in May from his home garage had been an enjoyable challenge.
"It’s been a really interesting challenge, but it’s been so much fun and it’s all working. I had to fit in eight doors and two flights of staircases in a limited space.
"I had considerable time at my kitchen table doing lots and lots of drawings devising how to make it work efficiently," he said.
Production crew will revolve the set between the play’s acts to reveal a "behind the scene" set of the faux play.
"At intermission or between scenes, we’ve got to flip the stage, and during the play, we’ve got to flip it twice — it’s been quite a task," he said.
Mr Killick said all the set materials were "kindly donated" by local businesses which made "everything very easy".
The set was "beautifully decorated" by Julia Larking and Neil and Jacqui Sedgwick, he said.
Mr Killick has been involved in theatre for "many years" and directed a previous play, Hypnosis, for the society in 2023 and also acted in last year’s popular play Spirit Level.
The society decided to extend this year’s show to 11 nights after sessions for its week-long show last year sold out.
Mr Killick is also the co-owner of Silenzio Pottery with his wife Anne in Oamaru.
He said he "likes to throw wood and mud around" and had a lot of experience building sets for theatre events including in his original home town Waiuku, and then in Waihi, before the couple moved to Oamaru in 2022.
Noises Off opened last night at the Oamaru Repertory Theatre.
