The University of North Carolina Wilmington Department of Theatre will open its spring season with The Birthday Party, showing Feb. 21-24 on the mainstage in the Cultural Arts Building.

Written by Harold Pinter and directed by Ed Wagenseller, the play marks the 50th anniversary of the first production of this haunting classic of the Absurdist era. Pinter scholar Charles Grimes, author of the acclaimed book, Harold Pinter's Politics: A Silence Beyond Echo, has been serving as a dramaturg on the show and will give a brief lecture at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24 prior to the 2 p.m. matinee performance. He will also conduct a Q&A session after that show. All other performances begin at 8 p.m.

Pinter has written 29 plays, including modern classics The Homecoming and Betrayal, plus 21 screenplays, most famously The French Lieutenant's Woman and Sleuth. In 2005, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in honor of his pioneering absurdist and political dramas.

Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for the general public and $9 for UNCW employees. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Kenan Auditorium box office or by calling 910.962.3500 or at the Cultural Arts Building box office one-hour prior to the show. Flex-packs can also be purchased and used for this show and the upcoming shows Scapino (April 10-13) and the Dance Concert (April 25-26).