Photo by: Michael Furman

Sexual and emotional betrayal are constantly swapped in a play that is a cynical examination of modern relationships. “Closer” is the Theatre Department’s main stage show for winter quarter.

If this sounds like the perfect story line for a soap opera, you’re close. Written by British playwright Patrick Marber, “Closer” follows the lives of Dan, Alice, Anna and Larry as they attempt to navigate through their respective relationships. The story line jumps back and forth between time and location in a play about truth and falsehood. The characters explore what it means to be truthful, both to themselves and each other. Romantic notions of love and sex that bring people together are turned upside down as Marber explores how media, like the Internet and photography, change the way we communicate with each other. The text is both sexually explicit and brutal, and a few scenes get you up close and personal with the actors.

Directed by professor Anthony Hubert, the play stars seniors Shannon McKinnon, Mackenzie Beyer and Alex Ngo as well as junior Nyle Kenning. What makes this production so interesting is that students designed both the set and costumes, a rare occurrence for a main stage show.

The play opens Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Little Theater of the Margery Reed Hall. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10, with limited general admission seating for each performance. To reserve seats call the Theatre Department box office at (303) 871-3849.