One would not usually list ‘watching people suffer’ as something that makes them laugh. I am no exception, but this changes when watching a Martin McDonagh or Harold Pinter Black Comedy. On viewing McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore and Pinter’s The Homecoming, two vastly different Black Comedies. When watching these plays, I found myself laughing at what would seem like the most inappropriate places, if one was only looking at the violent and chaotic visuals. It is in their staging that the dialogue, characters and settings mix to create laughter and cartharsis.

On viewing NIDA’s production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, I discovered that one of the most laughter-inducing scenes was also one of the most violent. The second scene of the play where the mad son of Donny, Padraic, is torturing a ‘drug pusher’, James, is visually disturbing. I saw James hanging upside down, blood trickling down from his massacred feet to his horrified face. Despite this, the lyrical, song-like way in which Padraic adresses him, coupled with the highly satirical dialogue, provokes the audience to laugh and creates a funny scene. Padraic tells James sincerely to ‘Be pickin’ yer nipple’, as he feels it to be a kind gesture rather than cutting off both nipples. The extreme stupidity with which Padraic spoke incited laughter fom the audience around me, and focused attention away from the macabre nature of the scene.

Inspired by my viewing of the NIDA production, I played the character of Davey in a similar manner to what I saw of Padraic when I was performing the first scene with a classmate. I sprinted in to the room with the bloodied, headless, obviously dead cat and asked in a seriously concerned manner, “Do you think he’s dead, Donny?”. This in turn made the audience laugh. The cat was obviously dead, as highlighted by my classmate picking it up to see blood pouring out of its head, making my question even more ridiculous. Although violence against animals is no laughing matter, McDonagh shapes this scene in a funny way through his use of satire and characterisation, and as shown through the NIDA performance, the way the play is staged is of utmost importance in maintaining the desired outcome of each scene.

Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming provokes laughter throughout but it would not be categorised as a typically ‘funny’ play. From the opening scene, a dark, melancholy atmosphere is created, as Max hobbles around a living room looking for a newspaper. On repeatedly asking his son where the newspaper is and being ignored, Lenny finally snaps an angry response at his father. “Why don’t you shut up you daft prat?” This immediately breaks down the family hierarchy and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. Watching a classmate perform this scene, I laughed at this line, although I didn’t find it to be very funny at all. Watching a performance live is much more confronting than watching it on a television, as there is no screen to hide behind. I felt almost a part of the action. I felt like I was forced to react upon hearing this in some way or another, and thus reacted with laughter.

If I was to direct this play, I would stage it in a very small and intimate theatre. In order to provoke this kind of aforementioned uncomfortable laughter, the audience needs to feel (like I did) as though they are almost inside Lenny and Max’s house. The seating would therefore be as close as possible to the stage. I would also direct Max to make deliberate eye contact with members of the audience – breaking the fourth wall and adding to the confrontation and discomfort of those watching the play. Thus, The Homecoming is not a satirical play, but laughter is created due to the build up of tension from the scene presented to the audience.

In both Lieutenant and The Homecoming, suffering characters are presented to the audience. While McDonagh portrays these characters in a funny way, Pinter forces laughter through tense scenes and an awkward atmosphere. Decisions on the staging of the plays are of utmost importance, as they have the ability to add or subtract from the desired outcome of what is presented on stage.