Theaters, like cinemas, are often places where natural light does not enter. They are the domain of light from projectors and projections, manipulated according to the will of art. The narrative of Black Comedy, a play written by Peter Shaffer in 1965, develops around a lack of energy that subjects a group of characters to complete darkness. There is a problem with a fuse that leaves an artist’s house without power. But the theatricalization of the story is based on an inversion: when the characters are still in a lighted space, Shaffer places them in darkness. The public does not see them. On the contrary, when the characters are effectively in the dark, Shaffer illuminates them and the audience can see how they behave when they think they are not being seen. They try to understand where the furniture is so as not to bump into it, they accidentally exchange glasses with alcoholic drinks with others with non-alcoholic drinks, they almost collide with each other without knowing it. Only spectators see what is going on: how people allow themselves to behave when no one is watching, and the atrocities they are capable of. In this time of over-exposure to privacy, Shaffer’s piece shows what happens in invisibility.
Black Comedy debuts at Sala Mário Viegas at Teatro São Luiz – the same room where, in 1995, Mário Viegas presented it. In his translation, he called it Uma Comédia à Escuras and, in the program, he clarified: “I chose this play to amuse ourselves and the public, of course. (…) The characters are not going to teach anyone anything. (…) Another aspect that I want to strongly emphasize is that the younger actors have, here, a great opportunity to show their abilities before the public”.