I take my comedy 'Black,' thanks

JULIA TIERNAN/YH The lights are off, but there's definitely somebody home.

If the name of this play makes you think Showboat or Beetlejuice, think again. Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy offers something a little different. Shaffer creates an intelligent, lively, and physical comedy that explores recurrent dramatic themes--interplay between actors and audience, the place of drama in society, and the validity of modern artistic forms.

Set in 1960s London, the play follows a series of misfortunes that befall a poor sculptor, Brindsley Miller (Nick Bagley, ES '00). At the outset of the play, Miller hopes to sell his art to
a wealthy German collector and secure
a blessing from his fiancée's father all in
one night. Unfortunately, a blown fuse plunges his apartment into darkness, precipitating a series of mishaps that get in the way of his plans.

Creative lighting emphasizes the playful nature of the performance, as the audience experience is the exact opposite of the characters'--blackout scenes for the company in the apartment are fully lit for the audience, whereas the theater is dark when the apartment is supposedly illuminated.

For the most part, director Alex Timbers, ES '01, and producer Quinnie Tan's,
DC '01, interpretation of Shaffer's piece is relevant and lively. Their choice of the opening monologue, "Mrs. Sorken," offers an appropriate and insightful introduction to many of the themes Shaffer explores in Black Comedy. The play's lone monologue adds an animated pertinence to the plot as Sarah Pike, TD '00, adeptly delivers it.

Like "Mrs. Sorken," however, the humor of Black Comedy can only succeed if the barrier of formality between the actors and the audience is broken. At times, breaks in the play's flow make the audience uncomfortable. Ironically, the cozy atmosphere of Nick Chapel is largely to blame--big pieces of furniture prohibit the actors from making natural movements on stage.

Accents also get in the way of a natural delivery, such as when Bagley's English accent causes him to speed through lines, slightly tarnishing his otherwise solid performance. The problem becomes particularly pronounced when these accents are taken in context of one another; Annie Lapin's, JE '01, melodious Oxford accent does not make sense when juxtaposed with Cyndi Nguyen's, CC '99, flatter, more Americanized version.

Finally, although the humorously static interpretations of the more minor characters play into the overall comedy, they soon become overly obvious and stale, much like the permanent scowl on the face of Colonel Melkett (Stephen Holt, GRD '04).

Although minor issues do detract somewhat from the performance, they should be considered in light of the generally solid interactions between all members of the cast. Bagley and Lapin faithfully present the ups and downs of the relationship among Miller and Melket. Credit should also be given to Desiree Burch, TD '01, whose portrayal of the quintessentially repressed middle-class Miss Furnival contrasts nicely with Brian Johnson's, BK '01, depiction of Harold Gorringe, the antique collecting neighbor with a love interest in Miller.

Black Comedy isn't dark and brooding, as its name would suggest, but it's still worth seeing. As Mrs. Sorken would say, if you happen to be in New Canaan, or anywhere in the vicinity of Trumbull College, there's no harm in dropping by.

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