"Casper's Fat Tuesday" and "The Stronger," two plays by August Strindberg October 26, 2012

Friday, October 26 to Saturday, November 17, 2012,
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM; Sundays at 2:00 PM.

Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street (between Bowery and Lafayette, East Village).

Presented by August Strindberg Repertory Theatre and Pink Pig Ballet in association with Theater Resources Unlimited at Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street (between Bowery and Lafayette, East Village).

This evening is a "sweet and sour" pairing of one undiscovered play and a novel adaptation of a more familiar one.

"Casper's Fat Tuesday" ("Kaspers Fet-Tisdag," 1901) is a proto-absurdist work that was originally written as a puppet show. In the churchyard of the German Church of Saint Gertrude in Stockholm, a manager and his wife unpack a company of Punch-and-Judy puppets, who enact a slapstick play of simple life lessons. The puppets are played by ballet dancers. An English-language premiere directed by Robert Greer, translated by Jonathan Howard.

"The Stronger" (1890) is a spellbinding short drama for two actresses, one of whom never speaks. The former, Mrs. X, concludes over the course of three-quarters of and hour that the latter, Ms. Y, is her husband's lover. With consummate skill, Strindberg succeeds in focusing attention more on the character who does not speak. In this production, the listener will be performed by a man. Robert Greer directs his own new translation of the classic.

Tickets $18 general admission; seniors and students $9
Box office: SMARTTIX, 212-868-4444; www.smarttix.com

Gene Frankel Theatre,
24 Bond Street (between Bowery and Lafayette, East Village).
Running time: 1:45.