The Umbilical Brothers' THWAK will make its West Coast debut April 7 at the Tiffany Theatre. An Off-Broadway hit, the show, created and performed by David Collins and Shane Dundas, will remain at the Tiffany for 40 performances through May 20. The producers are Bard Manulis and Liz Heller, with direction by Philip Wm. McKinley.

Australian-born Collins and Dundas are veterans of the performance-art circuit. Previous shows include Don't Explain and Heaven By Storm, which they took to Edinburgh Festival, London International Mime Festival, Sydney Festival and Germany's Koln Festival, among others. They won the Australian Entertainment Industry's MO Award for Best Comedy Group for the last five years. Recently they provided all of the voices and sound effects for Nickelodeon's animated series "Maisy."

Thwak combines comic imagination, physical skill and vocal ingenuity. "It can only be described as a Nintendo game or 'Ren and Stimpy' cartoon come to life," said the New York Daily News. "These guys possess an uncanny knack for creating every sound effect imaginable. Their skills are vast. It's easy to see why they have already taken London, Hong Kong and Singapore by storm. This is mindless entertainment of the first magnitude."

Thwak, which received a 1999 Drama Desk nomination, was originally produced at Off-Broadway's Westbeth Theatre Center. The production later moved to the Minetta Lane Theatre.

Tiffany Theatre is located at 8532 Sunset Blvd. For tickets and information call (310) 289-2999. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent