Experimental Theater: Black Box With No Exit

Theater Under the Stairs is christening new Botello Black Box space in a cozy theater-in-the-round setup with its latest production "NO EXIT," which opened on Friday. 

What is different about TUTS? 

TUTS' average company age is 21 years old. They are an experimental, "young, foolish and idealistic" company trying to create the best theater possible and delivering it for a fraction of the cost - a mission they are "recklessly" committed to. 

TUTS hopes to create an energy at its shows through young artists exploring and defining themselves in roles. Its next show, "NO EXIT," demands "intimate performances" and the new Botello space at Cotuit Center for the Arts is the perfect place to show off the small details. 

"To me, the most exciting thing about theater is being able to watch an actor, in three dimensions, inhabit the body and mind of a truly complex and fascinating person," said TUTS co-founder and "NO EXIT" director Christopher Compton.

Jean-Paul Sartre's "NO EXIT," written  in 1944, "chronicles the first 80 minutes of their [three characters] afterlives, as they realize that 'hell is other people.'”

In the story, three dead characters that have never met and have nothing in common are doomed to spend eternity together - in hell.

"And basically they just drive each other nuts," TUTS co-founder Holly Erin McCarthy said. "It's an intelligent play and a funny play but the real joy comes in watching these characters completely unhinge."

She said the show explores humanity and desire. 

Rob Anderson, McCarthy, Susan Winslow and Stephen Coltin star in director Compton's "claustrophobic production of this twentieth century masterpiece." 

TUTS promises "high-quality, low-calorie performances at ticket prices you won't mind paying," McCarthy said.

This is the company's second production. Its first at the Cape Cod Cultural Center sold out this summer. 

This small show presented in the round gives each theater goer a different perspective on the story and performance.

Feb. 4-20, Friday & Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm. All tickets are $10 call 508.428.0669 or artsonthecape.org