College Undergraduates Produce American Debut of 'Deathwatch'

A group of College students, working independently from any drama group here, will produce the American premiere of Jean Genet's one-act play, Deathwatch, March 6-10 in the Pi Eta Theatre. There will be two performances each night.

The play's overhead, which has been estimated at $1100, will be met by a Lowell House senior, John Eyre. Eyre was introduced to the play by Harold R. Scott '57 and D. J. Sullivan '57, personal friends of his, who will play two of the leading roles in it. The third starring members of the production will be Colgate Salsbury '57.

This will be the first time that these three actors will be in a play together. Each has been outstanding in the resurgance of Harvard drama in the past two years, but no more than two have ever played together at one time.

Genet has had only one other play over produced in America-- The--Maids-- which was given off-Broadway last season. The author has spent most of his life in jail for thievery and was only saved from life imprisonment in 1948 upon the personal intervention of Andre Gide, Jean Paul Sartre, and Jean Cocteau. Sartre has been Genet's chief advocate, writing several essays about him.

His jail experience is the background for Deathwatch, which deals with three prisoners in a death-cell. Stephen A. Aaron '57, who will direct the play, has said that Genet is interested in the inter-relations among the three; the pressures and the loneliness that they experience as each one tries desperately to express his own individuality.

Aaron said yesterday that he hoped the production would go down to Yale next month as part of a nation-wide drama festival being held in New Haven. In addition, since Eyre has controlling rights on the play for the next eight months, Aaron said there is a possibility of its going off-Broadway in the fall.