One act double bill White Liars and Black Comedy gets the green light over at the MADC Clubrooms for a fun evening of farce. Two directors, two casts and two of Peter Shaffer’s plays share the space to varying degrees of success.

First up that evening was White Liars, the tale of a long-suffering seaside fortune teller and two of her stranger customers. In the role of would-be mystic Baroness Sophie Lemberg, Audrey Scerri hits some great key moments in her prolonged monologues. However, I feel that Stephanie Zammit Borg’s indecisive direction lets her down in places.

Relying heavily on extended monologues to drive both the comedy and the plot forward, White Liars suffered at times. It can be very hard to keep a long speech going, and Scerri, along with Jonathan Dunn as Frank and Rambert Attard as Tom, did very well in keeping their energy up throughout their long exchanges. In general, the performances could have used a bit more attention to the beats and pauses, which are so important in comedy.

While the rhythm of comedy can be very hard to master for anyone, I felt that the accents used in the play probably stunted this. If mastering comedy is hard, mastering it in an unfamiliar accent is enough to make even a veteran actor sweat. Unfortunately, the accents were a little bit hit-and-miss in this case, and I felt that Attard’s performance took a considerable step forward when he was allowed to be a little closer to his natural voice. Though he had a slight advantage over his Maltese cast mates on the accent front, I was thoroughly impressed at Dunn’s easy natural delivery.

A highlight of both the plays featured at the Clubrooms on this evening was most certainly the excellent use of the limited stage space in both productions. Using a raised level at the back to create more space in both productions was simple but highly effective.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, Black Comedy is a farce set during a blackout. For the duration of the play, lighting cues are reversed – so we’re treated to the hilarious sight of the cast fumbling around as though in complete darkness. In short: the perfect recipe for slapstick comedy.

Directed by Franco Rizzo, Black Comedy is naturally a little livelier than its earlier counterpart, and the energy was strong throughout. As philandering sculptor Brindsley Miller, Joven Pisani shows some great comedic potential, though he needs to work on not swallowing his lines or throwing them away completely.

Two directors, two casts, and two of Peter Shaffer’s plays share the space to varying degrees of success

In the middle of a poorly-timed blackout, Brindsley’s apartment is crawling with over-the-top characters, including his brilliantly twee girlfriend Carol (Kate Decesare). Francesca Briffa’s prim and easily startled Miss Furnival, and Joe Depasquale’s hilariously camp Harold Gorringe round up the team of nutty neighbours nicely.

I must be honest and say that the show was somewhat stolen for me by Stephen Oliver’s ghastly grimacing as Colonel Melkett, which had me in fits from start to finish.

I was intrigued by Joana Jebaili’s somewhat sultry performance as old flame Clea, and look forward to seeing more of her on the local scene.

White Liars: Audrey Scerri and Rambert Attard.White Liars: Audrey Scerri and Rambert Attard.

Finally, as an oft-confused pair of Germans, Daniel Walters as Shuppanzigh and Alan Attard as George Bamberger bring a little extra zany comedy into the mix.

In general, I felt that of the two plays, Black Comedy flowed a little better than White Lies.

However, there were still a couple of pacing issues when actors sped through their lines, at times.

All in all, I was very impressed with the effectiveness of the reversed blackout technique, and the cast’s ability to portray this convincingly throughout the performance.

One aspect that both plays have in common is their somewhat retro setting. Writing in the 1960s, Shaffer’s farces are rife with cultural references and slang from the swinging 1960s – some of which still land with today’s audience and some of which do not.

I personally feel that, of the two, Black Comedy is the script which has held up better over time. Mostly, I suspect that this is due to its reliance on physical comedy and farce, as opposed to White Liars, which depends more on its somewhat dated dialogue.

It would seem that comedic styles are as dependent on changing fashions and tastes as any other trend. For this reason, while Shaffer’s renowned dramatic writings, such as Amadeus and Equus, will still find resonance with modern audiences, the comedies have somewhat less traction. It can be difficult to perform comedies once they are so far removed from their sense of time and place.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly applaud the use of the MADC Clubrooms as an excellent venue for actors, and especially new directors, to hone their skills in front of an intimate audience.

It’s great to see young artists get opportunities. And if we get a few belly-laughs along the way, who’s to complain?

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.