The Empty Space Theatre's new Outer Space late-night series offers some rarely seen fare by two renowned playwrights, Tennessee Williams and Lanford Wilson.

The two plays are being presented under the umbrella title Descent.

Though written more than four decades apart, Tennessee William's 1945 Hello from Bertha and Lanford Wilson's 1987 A Poster of the Cosmos each offer insights into the struggle of the human spirit to come to terms with syphilis (in the Williams play) and AIDS (in the Wilson work).

Directed by The Empty Space's associate director, Rod Pilloud, the cast features Andrea Benson, Nicole Godino, Keith Anderson and Ariadne Shaffer.

Descent is performed Fri. and Sat. at 11 PM from Feb. 20-Mar. 22. The Empty Space is located at 3509 Fremont Avenue N. Tickets are $6 (free for subscribers). For information, call (206)547-7500. -- By David-Edward HughesSeattle Correspondent