The Antaeus Company of Los Angeles will premiere a new verse translation of Juan Ruiz de Alarcon's Spanish Golden Age comedy, The Liar at the Secret Rose Theatre in NoHo on Feb. 5. The run is through Feb. 27.

The new rhyming verse translation is by Dakin Mathews, who also appears in the cast, along with Emily Chase, JD Cullum, John DeMita, Nike Doukas, Julia Fletcher, Philip Proctor, Bert Rosario, Marcelo Tubert and Alicia Wollerton, plus other members and guests of the Antaeus Company. Anne McNaughton is the director.

The Liar tells the story of a young nobleman, returned home from university, who has only one serious fault -- he's an incorrigible liar and can't seem to tell the truth about the simplest thing. He falls in love with a beautiful girl but his disregard for the truth entangles him in a comic web of misunderstanding and mistaken identity, with a bit of swordplay tossed in for good measure.

Alarcon, born in Mexico City in 1581, emigrated to Spain and became one of the most respected writers of Spain's celebrated Golden Age of Theatre. The Liar ("La Verdad Sospechosa") was an enormous success, greatly influencing French playwrights Corneille and Moliere and the Italian Goldoni, among others.

Secret Rose Theatre is at 11246 Magnolia Blvd. For tickets and information call (818) 506-5436. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent