After consecutive weeks of dabbling in the wacky (Young Frankenstein) and the neurotic (Sports Night) it is only logical that No Refund Theatre (NRT) would move to the absurd. The vehicle of this absurdity is a four-play festival this weekend featuring The Lesson, by Eugene Ionesco, and three short plays by Samuel Beckett.

"It's definitely a lot stranger than a lot of what [NRT] does," said Mike Richards (senior-English and theatre), who is directing all four plays.

"At first people will probably say, 'What the hell is going on?' But, hopefully, once they move past that point and settle in, it will be a lot of fun."

The Lesson, which, at 45 minutes, is the longest of the sketches, features a renowned professor teaching a confident, young pupil an increasingly absurd educational lesson.

"It's bizarre," said Kristen Linker (senior-public relations and women's studies), who plays the pupil. "People won't be able to relate to most of [The Lesson], but it will give them a broad perspective on theatre."

Assistant director Julia Kent (junior-theatre) said that, despite the plays' unconventional nature, the evening is not meant strictly for an elite group of intellectuals.

"The audience is based, not on educational background, but on the willingness to accept a new definition of what art is or what theatre is," she said. "All it takes is being open to new forms of expression."

Nick Faehl (junior-English) said that he needed some guidance in his approach to the role he is playing, that of the unusual professor.

"I didn't know what direction to come at this from. Thank God for Mike Richards. He has a great concept for what theatre of the absurd is all about," Faehl said.

Richards' concept: "It's drama that deals with the ridiculous things in life. But it does this in such a way that it makes the audience realize that, as ridiculous as they are, these things are also what make us human beings."

What draws Richards to theatre of the absurd, he said, is the ability of the script to enhance political understanding through example.

"They have a lot to say about politics in a way that isn't overtly political. Absurd plays show, rather than just tell, and this enables the audience better to absorb the material," he said.

In addition to The Lesson, the evening will feature the short plays Breath, Footfalls and Catastrophe, all written by Samuel Beckett.

The common link between the four plays, Richards said, is they are all thematically related to the notion of the ridiculous. Kent said in a broader sense, the plays do conform to some of the basic conventions of theatre.

"[The plays] let you see the world in a new way," she said. "That's what theatre is supposed to do in the first place anyway."