When we did Noises Off, we brought to audience back stage for Act 2 instead of turning the set. It worked really well, and the audience was excited to be backstage.

I was the set designer for our production of Noises Off which was presented several years ago. The set was a combination of flats and a unit which contained the staircase and the upper level (consisting of the doors to the kitchen and the lower level w.c.; a mezzanine level door to the other w.c.; and the upstairs doors to the closet and bedroom; plus the escapes to all levels used in the second act). This unit was about 20 feet long all together and was on heavy-duty casters. At intermission we rotated the unit after taking down the flats and set the flats back up with the reverse side showing for Act II. This was done by the cast and stage crew in full sight of the audience who enjoyed watching the set change and, in fact, many people stayed in their seats to watch instead of going out to the lobby. At intermission between Act II and III we reversed the process again. We rehearsed the set change just like part of the show and everyone had a specific task. Actually the girls rotated the unit and it worked very well. I'd be happy to give you whatever help I can. Our stage was about the same size as yours, and we are a small community theatre group (so there awas not a lot of money involved. Best wishes!

Our theatre is doing the show in February. The problem as I see it is that to have a proper two story turntable that you basically need a square space, which we don't have. We have an unusually large apron and the remainder of the stage is a shallow rectangle. Our technical director is planning to use two smaller turn tables and a symetrical design so that the arrangement of the doors between stage right and stage left will be essentially a mirrored image. Thus, when the tables are turned, it will come out looking correct on either side. That's his theory, anyway, we'll just have to see what happens when the show is produced!