Ubu By Adam Szymkowicz — Pdf
by Adam Szymkowicz is a contemporary short solo play that reimagines the grotesque protagonist of Alfred Jarry’s 1896 absurdist classic, Ubu Roi, as a modern-day CEO and "King of the Great Expanding Universe". Play Overview
- Non-Sequitur Dialogue: Characters often speak past each other, revealing a deep loneliness.
- Heightened Physicality: The script implies violence and gluttony that is impossible to stage realistically, forcing a cartoonish style.
- Meta-Theatricality: The characters often seem aware they are in a play, commenting on the action or the audience.
- Minimalist Setting: Like most of Szymkowicz’s work, Ubu relies on the actors’ energy rather than elaborate sets.
The play is a grotesque satire of power, greed, and bourgeois stupidity. Père Ubu, a gluttonous and cowardly former captain, is egged on by his ruthless wife, Mère Ubu, to murder the King of Poland and seize the throne. What follows is a bloody, cartoonish descent into tyranny where financial gain is the only moral compass. ubu by adam szymkowicz pdf
However, Szymkowicz infuses the text with his signature style: by Adam Szymkowicz is a contemporary short solo