Pinter, Greek updates and satire

On tap, from some of our more adventurous local troupes: a rarely seen trilogy by absurdist master Harold Pinter; modern takes on those unlucky-in-love, tragic Greek gals, Medea and Phaedra; a "retro-futuristic satire" of consumer culture; and the saga of a hirsute infant.

Harold Pinter's "Other Places"

The Community Theatre is tackling a bill of three Pinter one-acts, all from the early 1980s, in which the Nobel Prize-honored dramatist examines the enigmas of identity and interpersonal communication.

"Victoria Station" focuses on the darkly surreal radio communication between a London cabbie and his dispatcher.

"A Kind of Alaska" was inspired by the Oliver Sacks book "Awakenings," about longtime coma victims returning to consciousness. The play focuses on the plight of a woman who has spent 29 years comatose, and her bewilderment when returning to life in an older body, and in very different circumstances.

The third work, "Family Voices," ponders the difficulties of communication between a mother, a father and a son, as they attempt to stay in touch by mail.

Opened Thursday and runs Thursdays-Saturdays through May 31, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way S.W., Seattle; $10-$15 (800-838-3006 or www.thecommunitytheatre.org).

"Medea Knows Best"

Don't bother Mommy — she's really busy plotting her revenge against that two-timing dad of yours. And listening to doo-wop music.

Actually, you better keep an eye on her, in case she tends to take everything out on you ...

So goes this dark comi-tragedy written by Claytie Mason and Alissa Mortenson of Seattle's Nebunele Theatre, which takes off from the Euripides classic "Medea." Reset in 1950s suburbia, the piece opens a run here on Capitol Hill after a successful engagement in San Francisco. (The show had a workshop run here in 2007).

If it's any help, you might like to know that "nebunele" means "the little crazies" in Romanian.

Opened Thursday and runs Thursdays-Sundays through May 25, Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave., Seattle; $10-$15 (206-569-5569 or www.nebunele.com).

"Phaedra"

No model parent either, Phaedra is the mythic Grecian queen who fell hard for her stepson Hippolytus — and wreaked royal havoc because she couldn't keep her mitts off him.

Outsider's Inn Collective performs Matthew Maguire's adaptation of the tale, labeled "a response" to the 17th-century French version of the story by Racine.

Opened Thursday and plays tonight-Sunday and May 16 and 17, Stone Soup Theatre, 4035 Stone Way N., Seattle; $15 (206-551-2834 or www.outsiders-inn.com).

"S2"

Shop till you drop? The freewheeling new satire by Seattle author Edward Mast aims to lampoon the excesses of our buy-now-pay-later culture, in the tale of a "sexy teen hustler" who becomes entangled in prostitution, government conspiracy, corporate intrigue and more.

Annex Theatre produces the world premiere, in a style borrowed from such future-flicks as "Barbarella" and "A Clockwork Orange."

Opens tonight and runs Fridays and Saturdays through June 7, Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., Seattle; $5-$12 (206-728-0933 or www.annextheatre.org).

"The Hairy Baby"

Seattle dramatist Ki Gottberg's "adventure yarn and comic fable" imagines a couple whose marriage is rattled by all sorts of fantastical challenges after a strange child enters their lives.

The student production is in conjunction with a Seattle University conference on Northwest new-play development, held on the campus Saturday through Monday. It features some free events (panel discussions, a talk by noted playwright Steven Dietz) and other activities (conference info: 206-296-5360).

Now playing Thursdays-Sundays through May 18; Lee Center for the Arts, Seattle University; $6-$10 (206-296-2244 or www.seattleu.edu).

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com