Dionysus Daejeon Drama has literally taken things to a new level with its production of “Noises Off!” ― adding a second story to the stage.

The production follows a festival of short plays at the end of last year put on to try to revive the group, the success of which let them put on Michael Frayn’s elaborate comedy.

“We were able to put on a much more ambitious production,” said Elissa Jo Roberts, one of Dionysus’ organizers. “We wanted to move forward and we decided to move forward in a very big way.”

The main investment has been the staging. Director Franz Schoeman said it wasn’t quite the two stories asked for in the original, but the 1.5-meter second tier would create the split level effect needed for the show’s visual brand of humor.

“I think people can expect a hilarious physical comedy with lots of doors, lots of falling down, lots of sardines and a few surprises,” he said.

It’s a sense of comedy Roberts compares to Scooby Doo.

“It causes a lot of mayhem and craziness and it is integral to the show so we knew we needed to build a big set as soon as we began,” she said.

The show is generally true to the original, but small details have been altered ― with prices converted to won and town names switched with Korean equivalents ― to add a local touch to the more universal appeal of the play.

“A lot of this show is appealing to audiences everywhere simply because it’s easy to understand,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if there’s a language barrier or a cultural barrier, you can still understand slapstick comedy and people running around in confusion. It makes sense to everyone.”

Roberts added that as well as a bigger set, the production had allowed Dionysus to involve a wider range of people.

“We have a lot of brand new actors who have never acted before in their lives but really wanted to try something new. And that’s really what Dionysus Daejeon Drama is all about,” said Roberts.

“But slowly but surely we’ve really got to have a really good rapport.”

The show is on at Theatre Hotdog near Jungangno Station Exit 4 at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on June 15 and 3 p.m. on June 16.

Tickets are 10,000 won and can be reserved via daejeondionysusdrama@gmail.com.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)