The WPHS Theater program is coming back strong from holiday break with their winter show. “The Plays of David Ives” is a collection of five hilarious one-act plays, all written by David Ives. They deal with various topics but mainly explore the nuances of communication and how we interact with each other.

“Sure Thing” is about two people meeting in a café where a bell rings every time their conversation goes awry, giving them a chance to retry and fix their errors. “Words, Words, Words” is inspired by the idea that a monkey randomly pressing keys on a keyboard will eventually type Hamlet. In the play, three monkeys are trapped in a room for that exact purpose. In “The Universal Language” a man claims he has invented a language to unite humankind and tries to teach it to a woman, saying it will fix her stutter. “English Made Simple” follows a couple meeting at a party and navigating the conversation through the medium of an English grammar lesson. In “Arabian Nights” we see an utterly normal tourist in a gift shop ran by a very ordinary woman and a flamboyant, over the top translator who misinterprets nearly every word they say to each other.

The cast may seem small with only five actors and actresses, each performing in more than one play, but each player has huge talent to make up for it. In fact, two of the cast members are returning from the theater program’s previous production: “Play On!,” which was a smash hit.

Cast member Belle Cepler said she is extremely excited for the performance. “I think the show is going swimmingly!” Her personal favorite plays are “Words, Words, Words” and “English Made Simple.”

“I like how it takes things everybody knows and goes into them and makes them even funnier,” she said.

Performances will be held at 7 p.m. on January 9 and 10 in the little theater. Admission is donation-based with a suggested donation of $5 to support future productions. Theater Unlimited suggests seeing the show with a friend or a whole group. Concessions will also be sold.