"Open Theatre", the lead- ing experimental theatre company in North America will be performing at Con- federation Centre Theatre on Saturday, February 19. The show is being pres- ented by Confederation Cen- tre in co-operation with UPEI.

The Open Theatre Ensemble was formed in 1963 in New York by Joseph Chaikin. Here the six-member cast will perform "Terminal", directed by Mr. Chaikin and Roberta Sklar with text by Susan Yankowitz, critically the most succ- essful production ever done by the company.

"Terminal", like most of the Open Theatre product- ions wasn't written, it was created by the cast themselves.

"Open Theatre" and 'Term- inal" won't be everybody's dish, but can provide a unique theatre experience. It has proved especially popular with younger peo- ple.

Time Magazine in a recent article on ‘Open Theatre' said "audiences bored with seeing curtains go up on living rooms that imitate their own will find then- selves confronted by inner, rather than outer, real- ities". Audiences after seeing one performance by the company tend to get enthralled with the exper- iment and recently in Boston, theatre-goers paid admission to see "Open Theatre" rehearse re- alizing that wnat happened in rehearsal might be as exciting as wnat had happ- ened during actual per- formances. The. "Open Theatre" company has been called "the most thought- ful, painstaking and least

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malarke-ridden avante-garde theatre company in the United States."

"Terminal" dipicts, ina most unusual way, the sort of "half life" that many North Americans are living today. Terminal is about death, not just death after life, but during it.

Horror, amusement and fear are some of the emot- ions that audiences seeing 'Terminal' experience.

In the usual sense there are no costumes, no scenery, no props and the six com- Pany members rely almost totally on their own re- sources, bodies, faces and voices to portray the scene/

Critics throughout the United States have pr- aised both the company and and "terminal".

New York Times critic

Mel Gussow said "Ter- minal" will offer diff- erent things to differ- ent people but should leave no one untouched"; News- week magazine says "Ter- minal" is a powerful, aff- ecting workfthat confirms Joseph Chaikin's "Open Theatre" as'a success": and Walter Kerr, also of the New York Times,

urges his readers "if

you have any interest whatever in a theatre

that is trying to shake itself loose of old habits and inhibitions, you'd better make plans

to see "Terminal". : Tickets for’ :Open Theatre"

production of 'Terminal' are students $1 and adults $2, and are available

at the Confederation

Centre Box Office.

“ROO

venue!

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