This past weekend, the Hillel Theater Group presented its fall play: The White Liars and Black Comedy. The production is split into two shows-first The White Liars, then Black Comedy, presented back-to-back in a nearly 3-hour block. The writer, Peter Shaffer (Amadeus and Equus), published both works together in one book, and they are almost always performed as one piece. Director Michelle Kuchinsky '12, who helmed both shows, commented on this decision, saying, "Shaffer wanted to approach the same theme from two different angles. Specifically, is it always right to tell the truth? Or can deception be the right thing to do?" The White Liars is the story of a manager, Frank (Levi Squire '14) who pays fortune-teller Sophie (Yoanna Freedman '11) to give a false reading to his friend Tom (Aaron Berke '12). From this fairly simple beginning, many unforeseeable secrets are confessed, creating a web of lies that becomes trickier and more comical than I had first suspected the play could produce.

Both Freedman and Berke put on convincing accents as an Austrian and an Englishman, respectively. Berke, in particular, had his Cockney voice down pat, though I found his character more believable when he returned to his natural American pronunciations.

All three actors worked well with one another, though I wish their timing had been faster and more fluid. Despite this criticism, I give them all a lot of credit for their performances.

The dialogue consisted of several long monologues delivered by each character. It is in these speeches that Frank, Sophie and Tom reveal the duplicitous nature of their actions to one another and the viewers. It is not the most natural or the easiest way for characters to express themselves, but I found these speeches funny and absorbing.

Black Comedy differs from the first half of the show in both tone and plotline. When the lights dimmed after intermission and the second play began, the energy exuded by the performers was immediately higher. It had to be, because Black Comedy has an "experimental theater" twist to it: When the lights are dim, the characters can see. When the lights are bright, the scene is played as though it was taking place in the dark.

The characters had to have bigger personas, or they would have faded away. I took this choice by Shaffer to be metaphorical; it is when the characters cannot see each other that they feel comfortable enough to be honest. Oscar Wilde famously said, "Give a man a mask, and he will tell you the truth." Kuchinsky explained, "When the lights are on [meaning the characters cannot see], we get a glimpse into [main character] Brinsley's [Herbie Rosen '12] world. Most people feel more comfortable in the light. But, because Brinsley is dishonest, he feels the opposite." I had another interpretation: Maybe the lighting design was created to continually remind the audience that what they are watching is a performance, just as the characters give "performances" by pretending to be other than what they truly are. I admire the intent behind the lighting design, but when it was actually executed I found it distracting, and watching a darkened stage for so long hurt my eyes.

Apart from the lighting, however, Black Comedy was highly entertaining. It had a cast almost triple the size of The White Liars, but Kuchinsky managed to keep the various personas in line and the action moving.

The plot begins with Brinsely Miller, a sculptor who is expecting a very wealthy potential buyer to appraise his work. His prissy fiancée Carol's (Hilary Sager '12) father (Marc Eder '12) is also coming to meet him for the first time this same evening. The couple seems to have everything prepared, including "borrowing" their neighbor's exquisite furniture for the occasion, when the lights go out.

Thus begins a production filled with physical gaffes and cases of mistaken identity as the characters fumble around in the "dark." Each actor brings a further complicating persona into the mix, until, at the finale, two neighbors (Lenny Schnier '13 and Sarah Pace '13), Carol's father, Miller's ex-girlfriend (Leila Stricker '13), an electrician (Dave Benger '14) and the millionaire collector (played by Jeff Horrowitz '10 on Thursday, Alex Davidson '10 on Saturday, Jeremy Weinberg '12 for the Sunday matinee and Evan Delgaudio for Sunday evening) are all milling about onstage, trying not to trip over one another or the furniture. The resulting chaos is funny, though the jokes get old by the end of the play.

As in The White Liars, most of the actors performed some sort of accent or unnatural voice. Sager's ditzy whine and Pace's portrayal of an elderly neighbor were the two examples that I found funniest. Both performers were outlandish caricatures and provided some of the biggest laughs of the night. However, it seemed odd that some of the characters were portrayed as British (the plays take place in England) and some as American, particularly when British phrases, such as "had a fuse" instead of the American "blown a fuse" are used by non-European characters. It could be that not all the actors could manage an accent, but then why not have them all be American? It would have made more sense logically and would have been less distracting.

Kuchinsky explained that, "Some people had a knack for accents, and others met with acting coaches. I thought it would have been distracting to the audience to have all the characters perform in a British accent. I wanted them to focus on the plot and fully understand the dialogue, so I only emphasized accents that would make a difference in the storyline."

Ultimately, The White Liars and Black Comedy brought up some engaging quandaries about the difficult nature of honesty while still being a fairly enjoyable, if formulaic, production. However, if you want to see an excellent example of Shaffer's writing, I suggest you see one of his better-known works.

Editor's note: Aaron Berke '12 is a Justice Arts editorial assistant.