The Balcony, writer Jean Genet's masterpiece of the French Absurd movement, is on at Victoria University's Studio 77 from 31 October until 4 November.

Set in a brothel or a "house of illusions", the play features nine vignettes in which we see those in power play out their fantasies. But outside there's a revolution happening - what will happen when the pillars of society crumble?The Balcony, writer Jean Genet's masterpiece of the French Absurd movement, is on at Victoria University's Studio 77 from 31 October until 4 November.

Set in a brothel or a "house of illusions", the play features nine vignettes in which we see those in power play out their fantasies. But outside there's a revolution happening - what will happen when the pillars of society crumble?Genet's text focuses on the sensual threat of danger and tension in this volatile mix of image and reality.

Genet is best known for The Maids. A social outcast, he made a conscious decision to live his life as a criminal. He wrote much of his prose work in prison, and when famous French writers such as Satre and Jean Cocteau petitioned successfully for his release, he began his playwriting career.

The Balcony is director Stuart Henderson's major research project for his honours year at the VUW Theatre Department. This significant work of the theatrical absurd movement is rarely produced in New Zealand.

When: 31 October - 4 November 2007, 7pm
Where: Studio 77, 77 Fairlie Terrace, Kelburn, Wellington
Tickets: Full Price $12 Concessions $8
Bookings: Theatre@vuw.ac.nz or 04 463 5359

17/10/07