The Independent from London, Greater London, England • 99

ARTS A land of hope and fat blokes No 221: THE SUN electrifying: Nfchola McAuliffe and DewiondBantota 'Black Comedy' 2 THE Dairy Mirror used to say "Forward with the People" under its name. When Maxwell took over, this became "Forward with And now, the Sim's particular construction is "dedicated to the people of And ifs a powerfully affecting tale of real people, in black-arid-white. On the evidence of this commercial, the Sun is dedicated to fat blokes, mostly middle-aged, some in overalls. The first of these fat blokes appears to be reading the Sun in a confined space with kitschy ornaments. Is he actually in the lavatory? Then two further chunky blokes have a laugh at the 'Arise Sir Tinky VVmky headline, between them a Tupper-ware box.

This headline arouses interest and male bonding in a variety of other situations, including one with a fat middle-aged bloke in an office, complete with framed cartoons and theatrical award statuettes. The whole thing seems to derive from some kind of authentic Bloke-rama. Real people, gain sustenance from the Sun, from dawn to dusk, when it serves to line uie dog-basket for two delightful terriers. If a bit reminiscent of the current Heinz series, in which proletarian nuclear-family life is sustained on soup and lovely South African musk. Normally, red-top tabloid advertising promotes a feature sex guide But recently they've been getting a bit cleverer, with the Sun leading the way.

The new trend is towards a mood, a brand personality, a fuzzy sort of reader-identification. "Britishness" is just one strand in all this another is a generalised hostility to Europe. What else could be on the mind of the world's most distinguished AustraliaivAmerkan? round. And there's a boy who actually scratches a gramophone record at the end of Private Ear. And of course you can't injure a CD in that way.

I thought of issuing them under the title "Three Outdated Stoppard: I wrote one which was all about a Telex machine in the middle of Africa. And now people have mobile phones and satellites in little attache1 cases, so they can phone New York or London from the middle of the Kalahari Desert You have, to say, this is a long time ago when afl this happened. Before we had CeDnet Shaffer We have to have the boy saying the mains is in the cellar, etc, etc. Otherwise a lot of people would not know. Whafs the trouble? FBck the switch.

Did you both know these ideas were one-act Stoppard: Yes. Shaffer Yes. Stoppard: It didn't feel like the long haul as an idea. Shaffer I don't think Black Comedy would stretch to it Although Zeffirelli, when he directed it put an interval in -which I would have thought let the gas out of the balloon. Stoppard: Quite nice to have an interval in pitch darkness.

'The Real Inspector Hound' 'Black Comedy': Comedy Theatre, WC2 (0171 369 1731, previews from Thurs, opens 22 Apr. seem a bit archaic probably. Shaffer Even though The Mousetrap is still running. Stoppard: Thaf true. But your play I think of it as being set in its decade.

Shaffer Oh yes. You have to. Stoppard: Ifs built in, isn't it? I'm trying to remember if there's a plot reason for that Shaffer There is a plot reason. No one has fuses like that any more. Stoppard: Oh really? Shaffer You sent for an electrician.

Stoppard: And you needed wire to wind Shaffer And you had those awful little ivory bits from a hardware shop. Stoppard: Thaf Bright Shaffer That you could do for yourself. What you couldn't do for yourself was if you had a mains fuse. Which was in a box in a cellar and sealed up. You asked the London Electricity people to send someone round, and you waited until they came.

It did occur to me that three of my plays, that one and Five Finger Exercise and 77k Private Ear, are all in that sense period plays. Both Free Finger Exercise and Private Ear involve a gramophone record. Stoppard: Oh yes. Shaffer One that sticks, and betrays the fact that the German tutor is uncon-scious and trying to kill himself Stoppard: Very important Shaffer Yes. "Yaa hist hear this bit of this Brahms symphony going round and STOPFARD St SHAFFER from page 19 Strindbogand Tbm.

Stoppard: I don't know the answer to that question. I did write an even shorter day, an extended sketdi caDed Ajter is done with Houtu now and agaia I suppose Hound is done with oth-er plays, butl don't know what they are. Shaffer WeH wasn't it done at tire National? Stoppard: Oh, thaf right Yd forgotten that I should have remembered that because I directed it Shaffer That was with The Critic by Sheridan. Stoppard: I'm getting ancient, aren't Of course, it was so long ago, six, seven years ago. He later remembers it was 1985.

Shaffer: It would be nice, if people found this an agreeable combination, if they were paired together. Stoppard: out whether comedy plus comedy is actually mat good an idea. Or whether Strindberg is actually a much better idea togpmhontoSBIackComedy. Do these two plays strike you as period pieces? Stoppard: In a particular sense. I mink of mine as a play I wouldn't write now.

So ifs a period piece in my life. I suppose these plays belong in some different decade. I'm not sure you would wish to set the play-withiivthe-play as something happening in 1998. ft would gfflp Video supplied by Tellex Commercials umtw kit' WIN AN OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA THE OPENING EVENT of the Shoreditch Biennaie -LorKJonsfirinternatior Metropolis', an evening of large-scale outdoor projections featuring the work of cortemporar cutting-edge who have shot urban life after dark. The event is sponsored by Ofyrnpus, which is offering a state-of-the-art digital camera (worth 1,300) to one imaginative toS reader.

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