The world premiere of "Black Comedy", a play written by Peter Shaffer at the request of the National Theatre, took place in July 1965. The cast included Derek Jacobi, Maggie Smith, Albert Finney and Michael Byrne, directed by John Dexter — the same actors who, under Franco Zeffirelli’s direction, had just performed "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Old Vic in London.
The play is a brilliantly crafted one-act farce, a contemporary comedy that was originally staged alongside another work: in Britain with "Miss Julie" by August Strindberg, and on Broadway with "White Lies", another one-act play by Shaffer. Zeffirelli, however, presented it in Italy as a standalone production, consistent with his ongoing pursuit of brevity and effectiveness.
In the play’s program notes, Zeffirelli wrote: "Aaah! Making theatre to entertain, to amuse — a theatre that serves as an alternative to the commendable and honorable efforts of so many of our colleagues to create productions that are examples of cultural engagement, helping the audience reflect and improve themselves. With "Black Comedy", we willingly abandon, just this once, the task of making our audience reflect too deeply, though we do not give up on helping them improve. If anything, we aim to rediscover the essence of our youthful laughter, with a farce structured in the classical manner, reimagined today with the tone and traits of a frank contemporary satire. Let us all become young again. For one evening."