TORONTO, March 24, 1998 -- Theatre @ York winds up its season with the Canadian premiere of the absurdist comedy The Toothbrush, by Chilean writer Jorge Diaz, opening March 31 at York University.

The Toothbrush is a keen and witty dissection of a modern relationship, played out over the breakfast table of a married couple. Through the re-enactment of their everyday games and the collapse of the peculiar status quo in their relationship, the couple is forced to face the failures of their lives and marriage.

This contemporary classic of Latin American theatre is presented in a translation by Pablo Felices-Luna, who also directs the production. Felices-Luna sees the play as a tribute to the power of the human imagination.

"It pays homage to the sheer importance of our fool's quest for a happy ending", he says.

Felices-Luna, who originally trained as an actor in his native Peru, is currently completing a graduate degree in directing in York University's Theatre Department. As well as directing The Toothbrush, he is working on a translation of Judith Rudakoff's new play Rum and Coke for Teatro Escambray, Cuba.

The Toothbrush features members of the Theatre Department's first-year Graduate Acting Ensemble. Sets, costumes and lighting are designed by fourth-year production students in the theatre program.

The Toothbrush opens Tuesday, March 31 and runs in repertory with Theatre @ York's production of Timberlake Wertenbaker's The Love of the Nightingale until April 4. Shows are March 31, April 2 and April 4 at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee Wed. April 1 at 1:00 p.m. Performances take place in the Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre in the Centre for Film and Theatre, York University, 4700 Keele St. at Steeles Ave. Admission is $10, students/seniors $7, group rate $5. Box office: tel. 736-5157. For more information, please call the Department of Theatre, 736-5172 #3.

Contact:
Brigitte Kleer
Public Relations, Faculty of Fine Arts
tel. 736-2100, ext. 77143
email: bkleer@yorku.ca