Seth Barrish, artistic director the Barrow Group and director of Pentecost, will also be on hand to talk about the challenges of presenting Edgar's complex work, in which a fresco discovered during renovations on an Eastern European church threatens to rewrite the history of art and to disturb delicate political and social balances. The play won the 1995 London Evening Standard award and very possibly will figure prominently in New York theater awards ceremonies in the spring.

A playwright drawn to large-scale projects as well as to scorching political subject matter, Edgar examined American politics in his two-play cycle Continental Divide, which bowed last year at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival but has yet to make it to Manhattan. Among his other works are The Jail Diaries of Albie Sachs, May Day and The Shape of the Table.

The February 20 interview is the latest in TheaterMania's continuing series of talks with theater professionals at Ars Nova. Tickets for the event are $10 in advance, $15 at the door; for more information or to purchase tickets, click here.