"Expect an out-and-out comedy, slapstick, mistaken identity and a lot of embarrassment," said Joe Bannister as he prepares to play young sculptor Brindsley Miller in Orange Tree Theatre's upcoming production Black Comedy.

Now three weeks into the rehearsal process, Bannister spoke with Nub News to discuss the challenges of working on Black Comedy, the 60s and making his return to the OT round.

Bannister's character, Miller, expects a visit from an important art collector who could change his life, but Miller's home is the issue.

His flat barely has any furniture, so he decides to borrow items from his neighbour without permission.

Add to the situation a power cut, which Miller uses as an opportunity to deceive the art collector through the absence of light, yet the audience can see everything unfold.

Bannister revealed that it is a unique and interesting aspect of the play, having to act as though the lights are off when they are in fact not.

"It's a sort of Rubik's cube in your head," he said.

"You keep accidentally looking someone in the eye and then being like, 'oh no, I can't see'.

"Usually as an actor, you're encouraged to really connect with your scene partner, really look at them.

"And this is a whole other skill of finding a way to connect without looking."

Bannister admitted that another aspect of Black Comedy which is distinct is the fact that it is being presented in the OT's round.

He said: "Normally it's been done in a proscenium arch, front on, and now in the Orange Tree Theatre it's 360.

"The audience are everywhere and they're right there next to us, which adds a lot of opportunity for comedy and a lot of tension.

"They [the audience] will be watching everyone from every angle, all the different details of each character.

"You'll see a different kind of glory in a different person's panic."

Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy premiered in 1965, the year the play is set.

Drawing from that period, director Caroline Steinbeis and the crew will explore the culture and style of the 60s which defined the era as post-war liberation and a wave of "colour", as Bannister puts it.

"We've been looking at the style and the music because it was such a mad time," the actor explained.

"The Beatles are exploding and everyone's like, what the hell is this music? And with the contraceptive pill, women were becoming much more liberated.

"It's been really interesting talking about the play, which was written in that time and deals with that stuff, and then looking back from a modern perspective about how exciting that time must have been and some of the things that have changed since then."

Set in changing times, it could be said that Brindsley Miller's farce of not presenting the realest version of himself to the art collector is not entirely out of the ordinary.

Bannister said: "I'd say he's still coming of age. He is a well-meaning person who doesn't really know himself yet.

"The whole metaphor of it, I think, is who are we really when the lights are off? And he is unsure who he wants to be."

Bannister added: "He's presenting himself in a way that we all do when we're trying on different personalities until we find out who we are.

"In a way, for Brindsley, this is him starting off in a place where he is not sure who he is."

It was only six months ago that Bannister made his OT debut in Tanika Gupta's Hedda and now he is back in Richmond, with the theatre currently undergoing a massive £4.5m redevelopment.

Bannister admitted: "It's really lovely coming back to a warm and familiar place and everyone who works here is so welcoming and lovely.

"It's also night and day in so many different ways, like Hedda is a tragedy, this is a comedy.

"When I was here last, all of the building was intact and now half of it has been knocked down, so there's a kind of great inversion."

The redevelopment of the theatre is in no way compromising the production.

In fact, Bannister believes it "suits the play", with his character's home being as disjointed as it is.

The actor finished by saying: "When it was first on, it [the play] was described as an explosion of joy.

"Hopefully you'll be in hysterics, and it is joyful.

"It also has that thing, like all great comedy, where underneath it has something to say about what we're all like. What are we like when the lights go out? Who are we really?

"What's the front we're putting on with other people? Who are we when you can't see us?

"It's got some really lovely thought-provoking things, but told in a way that is just pure hilarity and where we can laugh at ourselves.

"And it's an hour and 15 minutes long, so the sun might still be up by the time we're out."

Black Comedy is playing at the Orange Tree Theatre from 16 May to 11 July. To find out more visit the theatre's website here.

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