Ubu (Drama Classics)

I have read other worthy translations of the Ubu plays but from what I can tell so far, this is one of the best, if not the best, translations I have read so far. The scatological humor shows through strongly on every page and the dialogue flows nicely. The book also offers some well-written background on Jarry's life and works, which makes the book useful not only from a theatrical standpoint, but from an academic one as well.

These plays were very difficult to get through as they are some of the first plays in the history of absurdist theater. They are very raw and should probably be seen rather than just read.

nice edition

It's in French; I can't read French!

Alfred Jarry is the grandfather of modern day surrealism, and the Ubu trilogy is a great, twisted work of genius. It reads like Shakespeare crossed with a slasher film. It's also a great parody of anything you can think of, and it is quite hilarious. The Ubu trilogy deals with the epic rise and fall of Pa and Ma Ubu, as they become Kings of several European countries, get involved in murder more than once, fight in wars, have deadly encounters with bears in caves, and even voluntarily become slaves. Great stuff! If you like Samuel Beckett, then you have to check out Jarry too!

King Turd is a French play written by Alfred Jarry. At the time he wrote the play he was 15 years old. King Turd is a collection of three plays Ubu Roi, Ubu Enchaine, and Ubu Cuco. He wrote the play Ubu Roi to perform with marionettes for some cash in 1888. The play was first performed with live actors in 1896.Ubu Roi was the first to be written, it follows the story of Papa Turd and Mama Turd who try overthrowing the government to become the king and queen of Poland. Ubu Enchaine was written after Alfred Jarry some wrote other plays. It is the exact opposite of Ubu Roi following Papa Turd and Mama Turd as they try to become slaves. Ubu Cuco is a considerably headier story then the previous. The plot follows Papa Turd's encounters many gods, the higher class, and his conscience.The story is usually considered a satire of Shakespeare. That is true, many of the characters are very similar to characters in plays by Shakespeare. But Ubu is also a satire of everything in late 19th century France. Things like money grabbing politicians and a stupid public are still around today. Therefore it is still relevant. Because Ubu Roi was written by a 15 year old it contains very simple language and is often nursery rhyme like. If you can read French it is better to read the book in French to catch all the word puns that Alfred Jarry wrote.The character of Papa Turd is one of the most interesting characters I have ever met in a book. He was one of the first characters in a novel to use language that is still considered naughty over 100 years later. The character of Papa Turd can be seen through his master plan "start by grabbing all the money, then kill everybody and leave." King Turd is an extremely humorous book. It is highly recommended to someone who wants something more then Shakespeare and the Family Circus.

This is a school joke that has evolved into an epic! McLeish's translation takes a lot of liberties and sometimes many things are lost. On the other side, he possesses great wit and through compensation, his work comes out as one of the best translations!

Jarry, a semi-psychotic, flaccid, career drunk, who once attacked Proust with a pen knife, and masterminded an invasion upon the Notre Dame cathedral with an army of beggars, is hardly even worth mentioning in the domain of great literature, it is in fact, a fact, that he only wrote bland comic monstrosities which aren't even very interesting. His structure is incoherent and reminscent of a lunatic who blathers out underdeveloped nonsense. Maybe if he had invested some time on organization instead of drinking Absinthe all day, he could have achieved some appreciation for great words of art.

Can say the play itself was not something I'd like to watch/read again, but I would recommend this edition to anyone planning on studying the play as the author's notes were very helpful and interesting.

Terribly bound book, should be described as loose leaf not paperback.

Perfect

There is no way that modern theatre cannot acknowledge its debt to Alfred Jarry, from the absurdist language to the almost comical use of violence. it's not easy reading, and performances are increasingly uncommon, so this is the cloest it's possible to get for most of us. I did have to persevere but it was worth the effort.

Faut être un peu allumé pour s'éclater avec UBU