A re-issue of three plays that ushered in the great age of absurdist theatre There was a riot at the first performance of Ubu Roi on 10 December 1896, when Firmin Gemier, playing Ubu, strode to the footlights and roared: "Merde!" at the audience, and theatre would never be the same again. Ubu became a force to be reckoned with in literature, art and politics. Jarry wrote more exploits for him and took to acting the role of Ubu himself in his own brief, strange life. This volume contains lively modern translations by Cyril Connolly and Simon Watson Taylor of Ubu Roi, Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaine as well as Jarry's writings on theatre."The Ubu explosion sent shrapnel flying into the next century. Dada, Surrealism, Pataphysics, Theatre of Cruelty, the Absurd - all owe a debt to Jarry." (Charles Marowitz, Encore)

Containing the texts of Alfred Jarry's three "Ubu" plays, this book also has biographical notes, an introduction by Simon Watson Taylor, and the text of Jarry's "Writings on the Theatre".

About the Author
Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) was a French writer, best known for his 1896 farce Ubu Roi, which began as a collaborative schoolboy satire on a physics teacher and is often considered to be a forerunner to the surrealist theatre movement of the early twentieth century. With its savage mockery of the French bourgeoisie and blatant disregard for theatrical form and convention, Jarry's work also influenced the Theatre of the Absurd.


Book Information
ISBN 9780413679901
Author Alfred Jarry
Format Paperback
Page Count 176
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 198g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 11mm