People’s inward desires do not always reflect their outward actions. The characters in “Black Comedy” are battling this conflict, but luckily for them, most of the play takes place in complete darkness, allowing them to go after what they really want without needing to hide their true desires.

Brindsley Miller (Jason Milliken, COL ’11) is a struggling sculpture artist, who, in one night, has to meet his new fiancée’s father and impress an art buyer with his work. With a night with so much riding on it, he is destined to encounter many upsets.

Just as Brindsley and his fiancée, Carol Melkett (Victoria Glock-Molloy, COL ’11), are setting up their loft for the evening, they blow a mainline fuse, putting them in complete darkness for the rest of the evening. Miscommunication, lost connections and secret lovers all contribute to a night of chaos. The issue of class plays prominently as certain characters both impress and look down on other characters.

The use of lighting is effective — as the audience, you believe that though the lights are up, these characters are in complete darkness, and you start to see the stage with the lights up as being in the dark. The set is a great use of the space. With the audience surrounding three sides of the stage, the characters successfully use the space they have, constantly moving around and keeping the set alive.

Milliken does a great job of delivering his lines as if he’s never said the words before, making them seem new and spontaneous instead of simply unrehearsed. He effectively embodies a man who is nervous and a born worrier, with this night sending him into a fit of complete anxiety. His youthful, free, artistic spirit contrasts greatly with the rational, strict, military persona of Carol’s father, Colonel Melkett (Sean Sullinger, MSB ’10).

Carol is a refined, middle-class woman, hoping to rise in status as her fiancée becomes a successful artist. Her slightly stuck-up personality, however, makes her seemsstiff. Carol looks uncomfortable, in the way she stands and in her body movement — even her shoes don’t seem to fit. While this is an awkward evening for her, it would be better to see a more well-rounded character, with more variety in her reactions and even her tone of voice.

Miss Furnival (Marissa Reeves, COL ’08), one of Brindsley’s neighbors, puts on a good performance when she was in conversation, but if the scene isn’t focusing on her, she sometimes falls out of character, giving the impression that she has lost interest. As the night progressed, however, and the character gets her drink on, Reeves was able to come alive as a more relaxed version of her character. From that point on, she stays in character despite her role in the scene, and her performance produced a lot of laughs.

Clea (Miranda Hall, COL ’11), Brindsley’s secret lover, is excellent, putting on a fun and passionate performance. Everything lights up when she’s in the room, and Hall and Milliken have great chemistry. The tension between them shows as they begin to fight like real lovers would.

At times, all of the characters begin to overact their being in the dark and inability to see each other. The actors fail to employ their other senses — specifically, their hearing — as a person would naturally do in such a situation. The actors should be able to have an idea of where people are after hearing them speak. When they are sitting next to each other, even in complete darkness, people still face each other when speaking. Although this is a relatively small detail in the performance, the seeming shortcomings are noticeable.

A lot of the one-liners use dirty or gag humor, adding a nice comedic touch to the show. The humor in “Black Comedy” is especially difficult to pull off, as the timing needed to be perfect so that as the characters move around in ‘the dark,’ they do not run into each other.

While some of the acting could be enhanced and tweaked, as an ensemble, the cast of “Black Comedy” produces a good show. The combination of characters, each with a different personality, warms up the stage, and this comedy in the ‘black’ finally comes to light.