“Black Comedy” Illuminates Elm Street Cultural Arts Village Stage

WOODSTOCK-TOWNE LAKE, GA - From Elm Street Cultural Arts Village: Contrary to the title, there is nothing but lightheartedness present here. It’s a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that most of this play occurs entirely in the dark... at least for the actors.

Written by Peter Shaffer (author of Equus, Amadeaus, and several other plays), Black Comedy follows the hilarious series of events that occur when a power outage upsets the meticulous plans of Brindsley Miller, a young sculptor. Brindsley and his fiancée, Carol, have “borrowed” some lovely antique furniture from the flat of a particularly fussy neighbor (without his permission) in order to impress a potential investor.
Unfortunately, in the midst of the darkness, the neighbor returns early, Brindsley’s ex-girlfriend shows up, and things go hilariously awry.

What adds to the comedy, is the fact that it’s staged in a “reversed lighting” scheme. As the play starts, the stage is in total blackness, even though the light in the story is on. A few minutes into the action, there is a power failure, and the stage lights come up to reveal the characters’ actions in the midst of the blackout. So, when the actors are in the dark, the audience can see them plainly. When a match is lit, or a flashlight used, the stage lights are dimmed to reflect the limited light.

This is quite a challenge for the actors, as they have to perform as if they are in the dark throughout the run of the show. Kate Johnson, previously seen in Elm Street’s production of Annie Get Your Gun, sheds some “light” on the situation. “I think most people's inclination when they're speaking to someone is to look them in the eye. In this show, we only have a few moments in dim light that we're able to do that. Getting out of that habit has been especially hard, as well as making it believable that we can't see anything or anyone around us.” It’s a show unlike any that has been done previously on the Elm St stage, and it acts as a thrilling ignition to our innovative and exciting Season of Courage.

The play opens September 8th , and runs through the 17th with the performance schedule
as follows:
Sept 8th, 15th & 16th – 7:30pm
Sept 9th, 10th & 17th – 2:00pm

Tickets are $15 in advance (www.elmstreetarts.org ) and $18 at the door. The show is rated PG-13.

Image via Elm Street Cultural Arts Village