The Shark opens with a man telling his dinner guests that he once witnessed a shark eat himself to death, his carnal desire overruling logic. The other guests squirm uncomfortably because a) the choice of table conversation sucks and b) the man’s wife is having an affair with one of the guests. Even a dimwit would catch on: shark devours own flesh…woman has sex with guy who isn’t her husband…we’re all animals! Moving on. The Worm shows an idyllic afternoon of fishing between two lifelong friends interrupted when one reveals he’s dying of cancer. A contrived conversation about fishing, ice cream, and what happens to us when we die ensues. Indeed, we animals cannot control our desires: director/playwright Nathaniel Porter’s to cram his philosophical musings down our throats; mine to take a cigarette break mid-performance. ERIKA HOBART 8 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Ends April 27.

Fridays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Starts: April 11. Continues through April 27, 2008