Improbable Theatre, considered by many to be Britain's hippest, hottest and most audacious theatre troupe, will return to UCLA's Freud Playhouse Jan. 24-27, 2001, with a production of Spirit, its latest puppet creation. Improbable Theatre scored a huge box office and critical success last year with its production of Shockheaded Peter. The company's upcoming show takes the emotions and aspirations of our everyday and dream lives and transforms them into fantastic living landscapes.Also scheduled as part of UCLA Performing Arts 2001 season is Julie (The Lion King) Taymor and Andrei Serban's The King Stag, which depicts a wild and enchanted world of kings, damsels and sorcery. Drawing on theatre forms across times and culture, from Indonesian shadow puppetry to Commedia dell'Arte, The King Stag uses a rich visual canvas to highlight its poetry and adventure. Serban directed, with Taymor contributing costumes, puppetry and movement.

The UCLA campus is in Westwood. For tickets and information call (310) 206-2101.

— By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent