Cowboys and spacement collide at the Brick

At the Brick Theater this month, you’ll be sure to laugh and cry, just like the Greeks intended.

The Williamsburg space’s latest plays, “Devils” and “Spacemen from Space,” running Aug. 12–29, explore torture and singing cowboys, respectively.

The one thing they have in common is the playwright and director — Gravesend resident Ian W. Hill, of the theater company Gemini CollisionWorks.

“Devils,” the decidedly darker of his two, tells the true story of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century French priest who was executed after nuns accused him of being in league with demons.

The lighter “Spacemen from Space,” inspired by old movie serials from the 1930s, features singing cowboys, gangsters, G-men, aliens, mad scientists and good scientists who fly around fighting crime with jetpacks on their backs.

“It’s all about playing all of these ridiculous concepts so seriously as they do in the old movie serials,” said Hill. “The more everyone treats them with such importance, the funnier it gets.”

The two productions couldn’t be more extreme, though both touch upon similar themes, said Hill.

“Even though it’s a completely silly, almost frivolous play, underneath it all, ’Spacemen from Space’ is very much about the exact same themes as ‘Devils’ — anti-scientific thought, anti-intellectual thought, and other abuses of irrational thought,” said the playwright. “Once you look at the torture in ‘Devils,’ I don’t think you can quite look at the light-hearted torture of ‘Spacemen from Space’ quite the same way.”

“Devils” at The Brick [575 Metropolitan Ave. near Lorimer Street in Williamsburg, (718) 907-6189], Aug. 13–14, 19, 21, 26–27 and 28 at 8 pm and Aug. 15 and 29 at 2 pm. “Spacemen from Space,” Aug. 12, 17 and 20 at 8 pm, Aug. 15 and 22 at 7 pm, and Aug. 14 and 22 at 2 pm. Tickets $18 for both. For info, visit www.bricktheater.com.