Ferdydurke, the 1937 classic Polish satire by Witold Gombrowicz, receives its American West Coast premiere in both English and Polish at Los Angeles' City Garage, March 30-April 9. Janusz Oprynski and Witold Mazurkiewicz direct.

An absurd Faustian tale, the original novel "Ferdydurke" is about a young writer sent back to his childhood by a demonic professor of literature who instructs the youngster to learn how to write correctly. Teatr Provisorium adapted the Polish version with Allen J. Kuharski, creating an English version from their stage adaptation and Danuta Brochardt's new translation of the novel, to be released by Yale University Press.

Other works by Gombrowicz include the novels "Trans-Atlantyk" (1953), "Pornografia" (1960) and "Kosmos"; and the plays Princess Ivona and The Marriage.

Jacek Brzezinksi, Witold Mazurkiewicz, Jaroslaw Tomica and Michael Zgiet star.

Tickets are $20. English performances will be Thursdays through Sundays with Polish performances April 4, 5 and 9. City Garage is located in the alley at 1340 4th Street. For tickets, call (310) 319-9939. City Garage is on the web at http://www.citygarage.org. -- By Christine Ehren