A worker yesterday displays a model of the glass cube that four Urban Dream Capsule performance artists will inhabit in Xintiandi from June 17 to July 1. Nonverbal interactive communication is expected to trigger inspiration and laughter at the show.

A WELL-KNOWN Australian performance art troupe, "Urban Dream Capsule," or UDC, will stage a reality show and interact silently with the audience in a glassed-in cube at Xintiandi from June 17 to July 1.

The audience can communicate through notes written on or pressed to the glass, email and faxes. It's all non-verbal communication and the performers will be silent. Computer terminals and fax machines will be provided.

UDC's four performance artists - Neil Thomas, Nick Papas, Andrew Morrish and David Well will be "sealed" inside a specially designed glass capsule, living day-to-day lives and interacting with the audience 24 hours a day for two weeks. Admission will be free to the show.

"They will spontaneously perform for anyone coming up to the glass," said producer Karen Chang.

Over 10 years, UDC has performed in London, Chicago, Sydney and Hong Kong, bringing audience members together and making them smile. Someone who met during the show even later married.

In a 65-square-meter englassed world, the four actors turn everyday living into entertainment, making dinner into a dance show, showering a comedy, and cooking an interactive exercise.

The audience can communicate with performers by writing messages outside the capsule and sending them faxes and emails. An interpreter will help the performers if necessary.

"We hope UDC will provoke the audience into questioning their assumptions about the nature of communication," said Jeannie Cheung, an official from Xintiandi and a show organizer. "Language is not the problem. People can also communicate and form friendly relationships by non-verbal means."

The four artists are preparing in Australia, learning some Mandarin, Chinese cooking, traditional Chinese opera, music and tai chi boxing. They call themselves "cultural archaeologists" and consider the forthcoming show a chance to learn about the city and its people.