Contrasting plays are not a marriage of equals

These two shorts were first paired and performed together at Chichester in 1965.

Nearly 50 years later and history has reunited them.

They just about share some common features - what happens after dark and in the dark - but this match is more about the differences and contrasts between them.

Miss Julie is charged with passion, emotion and despair while Black Comedy examines human relationships through the prism of farce and wild humour.

The intensity of the first play no doubt amplifies the sense of light relief in the second, but this is not a marriage of equals.

Miss Julie has faded over the years, while Black Comedy’s genius for humour remains undimmed.

Black Comedy opens in the dark - yet the cast are heard talking as though they were in full view of the audience.

It’s only when in the storyline they suffer a power blackout and are themselves left in the dark that the house lights are illuminated and they are revealed in all their uproarious confusion.

What ensues is a tale of tangled relationships, social divides, and rapier-sharp characterisation.

Shaffer has lost none of his magic. It is fabulous fun.

He knows how to manipulate his audience through a combination of slick lines, slapstick, and clever staging.

The cast under director Jamie Glover milk it to perfection.

It is comic Chichester at its best.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Miss Julie - a production which would have contributed more positively to the evening if it had not been performed at all.