It’s after midnight and the touring company for a new play Nothing On struggles through a final dress rehearsal unprepared for an Opening Night that is only hours away. Actors forget lines and where to put their props, the stage managers cope with mounting disasters, and the director is driven to hair-pulling exasperation. And although all seems shambolic now, remember the theatrical motto: ‘It’ll be all right on the night!’ Well, in this case, maybe not.

By taking a typical English bedroom farce, opening it up, twisting it back-to-front and turning it inside-out, Michael Frayn created what many regard as the funniest play ever written. But who can judge when you’re laughing so hard?

The perfect demolition requires precise skills, which is good reason to call in director Sam Strong (Jasper Jones, The Speechmaker) to place the detonators and co-ordinate the mayhem. Simon Burke AO (Devil’s Playground), Ray Chong Nee (Othello) and Libby Munro (Disgraced – QTC Season) lead a superbly versatile cast, including MTC favourites Nicki Wendt (The Last Man Stading) and Louise Siversen (True Minds), who gallantly try to keep the show from slipping completely off the rails.