CALLING FOR HELP, by Peter Handke, and VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY: A TRAGEDY, by Vladimir Mayakovsky, the most acclaimed poet of soviet Russia until he killed himself in the early '30s. Unfortunately, he evidently wasn't much of a playwright. The Handke doesn't even bear thinking about, although Handke obviously expected it did. On the other hand, if you go this Saturday and bring a Harvard I.D., they'll let you in at half-price: there's a bright side to everything. 8:30 p.m. at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church.

MACBETH, by William Shakesphere. Papadopaulos lasted longer and Nixon killed more people, but neither of them can match the old Cawdorian style. word is it's a gimmmickless production, and how bad can that be? Opens tonight at 8 at the Loeb.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, by Dale Wasserman. This play is good. Go see it. 7:30 at the Charles Playhouse in Boston.

PERICLES, by William Shakespeare and probably some other people. It's a little incoherent, maybe but any play where a storm that wrecks the title character's ship and kills all the sailors but him is followed by a stage direction like "Enter Pericles, wet," can't be all bad. Opens tonight at the Loeb Ex; ther's a Saturday matinee as well as a Saturday evening performance, and as always tickets are free the day before.

SWALLOWED. For a month now I've been waiting to list this one. Four original one-act plays about people being swallowed. And if you belive they, you'll swallow anything. Prevews, for an opening next week, 8 p.m. at Theater Two, 196 Broadway near Kendall Square.