LOS ANGELES -- Mark Ravenhill, one of Britain's youngest and most controversial playwrights, has gone bi-coastal.

His controversial play Shopping and Fucking was a recent Off-Broadway hit, and now his nightmarish version of the Faust legend, Faust is Dead, is running through June 28 at the Zephyr Theatre in W. Hollywood. The show opens May 23.

The play is about "sex, drugs, violence...whatever!" said a company spokesperson. It focuses on a famous philosopher, Alain Pelletier, who embarks on a publicity tour to spread the word that the death of man and the end of history is imminent. "Along the way, he hooks up with Pete, a disillusioned young gay man, who promises the philosopher sexual pleasure in exchange for protection and freedom from his wealthy father back home. Soon, the two expatriates head off on a hedonistic joy ride along a California highway, spending their days getting stoned, having rough, empty sex together, and surfing the sleazier side of the Net, where their bent fascination with perversion takes a bloody turn when they both discover that not all events are virtual."

Presented by Tuesday Laboratory, a non- profit theatre dedicated to producing American premieres of British plays, Faust is Dead is directed by Allan Hendrick and features Chastity Dolson, Alex Fox, Allan Kolman, Dolley Levan, Dan McKeever, Brian Newman, Jason Peck and Ronald Robinson.

Performances at the Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave., are Thurs. & Fri. at 8 PM; Sat. at 7 & 9.30 PM. Tickets are $15-$20. Call (213) 660-8587. -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent