George Walker, Canada's most celebrated and prolific playwright, is unleashing his first work for the stage in five years.

The six-play cycle entitled Suburban Motel, is being directed by Walker and staged at Toronto's Factory Theatre, where he has been premiering his work since 1972. It's a great show of loyalty; Factory faced near bankruptcy last year and was rescued by its founding director Ken Gass, with whom Walker worked in his formative years as a playwright.

It was while driving cab that Walker saw a handbill from the theatre asking for new scripts and submitted Prince of Naples, thereby establishing himself as a writer of dark comedy and remarkable insight into the minutiae of human neurosis and evil. The trend continues in Suburban Motel.

The first two plays, Problem Child and Criminal Genius, open on Oct. 25 and Nov. 15, respectively. They will be followed later in the season by Adult Entertainment, Featuring Loretta, End of Civilization and Risk Everything.

Factory Theatre: (416) 504-9971. -- By Mira Friedlander
Canada Correspondent