Perfect Place for ‘Unravelling’ 2 One-Acts

The sprawling, murkily lit Hollywood Moguls complex is filled with looming sculptures, abstract paintings and frayed comfy chairs, the kind of place where ardent young artistes-about-town can gather to have a bite and discuss the latest trends in deconstructionism.

It’s the perfect venue for the Barebone Theatre Company to launch its inaugural production “Unravelling,” an evening of two distinctly non-linear one-acts by Albert A. Dayan.

“Myth,” an amusing and ultimately disturbing comedy about an FBI agent who has split into two separate and distinct individuals, best showcases Dayan’s intellectual audacity. Superbly directed by Jessica Kubzansky (who lately helmed “The Mandrake” at West Coast Ensemble), the play crackles with professionalism and humor. As the divided self, D.C. Douglas and Jon Beauregard are polar opposites who manage to be symbiotically hilarious. Bonita Friedericy displays impeccable comic timing as the ill-fated FBI psychologist who tries to debrief the duo.

The evening’s capper, “Pyramus and Thisby,” directed by Matt Almos, juxtaposes the travails of a troubled family with Shakespeare’s play-within-a-play. Dayan again shows flashes of the cheeky wit that distinguishes “Myth,” but the intellectual content of this Pirandello-like piece seems more forced, and an in-your-face denouement fails to make its point.

* “Unravelling,” Hollywood Moguls Theatre, 1650 N. Schraeder (formerly Hudson), Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends April 22. $12.50. (213) 993-7211. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.