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Through June 14 Cleveland Public Theatre’s The Other Shore, Between Life and Death, and Matt and Ben

The offerings range from the sublime to the ridiculous this month at Cleveland Public Theatre, beginning with two one-act plays by Chinese playwright and Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian. Artistic director Raymond Bobgan and Holly Holsinger stage The Other Shore and Between Life and Death, respectively, in co-production with Cleveland State University. Gao’s works are seldom, if ever, performed in the United States, although there have been productions in Europe and Australia. They will not be done in China, where his work has been banned since the late 1980s. He now lives and writes in France.

As the titles suggest, the plays tackle universal themes. Both borrow heavily from ancient Chinese drama and Western modernism, using music, movement and other artistic elements for dramatic effect. The language is poetic and the imagery memorable in works that illuminate modern existence. It also demands a style of acting that will challenge actors, who must perform aware of their performance. The National Endowment for the Arts has given its seal of approval, giving CPT a $15,000 grant for the project.

And ripped from the headlines (or yesterday’s, anyway) is the other CPT offering, Matt & Ben. It reinvents the success story of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, before their lives changed in 1996. In this version, the script of Good Will Hunting mysteriously drops from the ceiling into their laps, prompting all kinds of shenanigans. The send-up was penned by 20-somethings Brenda Withers and Mindy Kaling, former Dartmouth classmates who just wanted to have fun. How else to explain their desire for women to play the two roles? Dan Kilbane directs Nicole Perrone and Elizabeth Wood in a play that scored at the New York International Fringe Festival.

Hey, stranger things have happened. – Faye Sholiton

The Other Shore, Between Life and Death, and Matt & Ben; $; Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland; 216-631-2727;www.cptonline.org.