Ubu Roi: Drama in 5 Acts

by Alfred Jarry

Book Overview

One of the most extraordinary events of the late nineteenth century in Paris was the opening on December 11, 1896, at the Th??tre de l'Oeuvre, of Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi. The audience was scandalized by this revolutionary satire, developed from a schoolboy farce, which began with a four-letter word, defied all the traditions of the stage, and ridiculed the established values of bourgeois society.

Barbara Wright's witty translation of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811200728
• ISBN13: 9780811200721
• Release Date: January 1961
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

Ubu Forever!

At $ 3.99 a copy you can't go wrong. I found this in the bargain bin at a local bookstore and thought I was in an absinthe delirium. The brilliant beginning of avant-garde theatre. Don't miss it.

Roll over Dover

Silvermom's review of Ubu Roi on this site is misleading. It refers to the New Directions edition of the play, now unfortunately out of print. The Dover edition does not have the delightful line drawings, nor the added essays on theatre by Jarry. Also, I don't much care for Dover's gratuitous (and inaccurate) translation of "Ubu Roi" as "King Turd." On the other hand, as far as English translations go, Dover's is pretty much the only game in town. And Jarry's game is wonderfully worth playing, full of rambunctious anarchic high spirits. Just so you have a better idea of what you'll actually be getting.

Not just Ubu Roi!

1991 22nd printing includes; Ubu Roi, a Drama in 5 acts; The Song of Disembraining by Alfred Jarry; 2 essays on the theatre by Jarry - "Questions of the Theatre" and "Of the Futility of the "Theatrical" In the Theatre";2 portraits of author by L. Lantier and F. A. Cazals;several drawings by Jarry and Pierre Bonnard;204 drawings by Franciszka Themerson doodled on lithographic plates. Fascinating book!

Not just Ubu Roi!

1991 22nd printing includes; Ubu Roi (drama in 5 acts); The Song of Disembraining;2 essays on theatre by Alfred Jarry-"Questions of the Theatre" and "Of the Futility of the "Theatrical" In the Theatre";2 portraits of the author by L. Lantier and F.A. Cazals, several drawings by Jarry and Pierre Bonnard and 204 drawings by Franciszka Themerson doodled on lithographic plates. Fascinating little book!

supremely funny and farcical

Hugely, magnificently funny. I saw a live production of this play on an education channel some years ago. It is totally anarchic and joyful.