Smug, slightly eccentric and ever so properly British, a middle-aged wine critic meets the woman he had solicited through a New York personals ad. Coincidentally, she's also an educated Brit. Conversation is polite but frisky, cultivated but tentative -- two slightly pompous "odd ducks" exchanging the stuffy, strained, pretentious repartee of a David Niven movie.

		Pittsburgh New Works Festival Where: Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Downtown, Black Box Theater. When: 5 and 8 p.m. today; 4 and 7 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets: $7, reservations at 412-881-6888 or www.pittsburghnewworks.org. Sept. 16-19 at New Works: "The Mark" by Gretchen Icenogle, "Beartooth" by Kevin Cramer and "yellow daffodil caution lines on the 11:37" by Megan O'Brien.

"Delightful."

"Quite."

Just when "Erudite Englishman Seeks" begins to become a bore, Pittsburgh playwright Robert Isenberg brings in a brilliant literary device. Enter Steve, a boorish American clod who happens to live across the hall from the Englishman. After a few uncomfortable minutes of Steve's intrusion, the stiff Brits seem comparatively warm and genuine, and the awkward first date looks as if it might be the beginning of something.

Isenberg's intuitive understanding of just when the story needed to turn makes all the difference in this play, part of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. With the help of director Lora Oxenreiter, Ken Fischer and Nancy Mimless develop an easy chemistry in a short 34 minutes. Randy Akan Oliva plays the boor to well-deserved laughter and applause, and Zilda Alves struggles with a foreign accent in a smaller supporting role.

The gloves come off in F.J. Hartland's smackdown match of sisterly sparring. In "Cake Without Frosting," elder sibling Eve crashes her estranged sister's 30th birthday party to give her a gift she hopes will destroy her life. Director Pat Kording keeps Kristiann Menotiades and Cori Bernard in a clinch for a 20-minute cat fight that ends in a disappointing draw. Hartland offers no resolution, just a brief glimpse of a portion of one round of a dysfunctional relationship.

Duquesne University student Matt M. Smith continues the fight theme in "Bill and Me." Don DiGiulio is wonderful as a distraught man who comes to a catharsis after quarreling with an annoying "friend," played by New Works veteran Varian Huddleston. Director Adam Kukic wisely stands back and lets the talented DiGiulio run with the conflicting emotions.

In the first week of a four-week run, the 14th annual festival is fitting snugly into its new Black Box at CAPA. With 112 comfortable, portable chairs on risers, hardwood floors, a high ceiling and a balcony to accommodate audience overflow, it's a nice new home for an indispensable local institution.