Overview
Context
Papa Ubu is asleep in a remote cavern, tossing
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Ah! Lord Russian Dragoon, pay attention. Don’t shoot that way; everybody’s there! Ah! there’s Bordure. He is bad, one would say a bear. And Bougrelas who comes at me! The bear, the bear! Ah, there he is down! It is tough, Great God! I don’t want to do any work, me!. Bog off, Bougrelas! Do you hear, you fool? There’s Rensky now, and the Czar! Oh! they’re going to fight me. And Madame Ubu! Where’d you get all this anyway? You stole my gold, you wretch! You’ve plundered my tomb in Warsaw Cathedral, close to the Moon. I’ve been dead a long time, me. It is Bougrelas that killed me, and I am buried at Warsaw close to Vladislas the Great, and also in Cracow close to Jean Sigismond, and also at Thorn in the dungeon with Bordure. There he is again! But go, accursed bear. You look just like Bordure! Do you hear, beast of Satan? No, he doesn’t hear. The Snot-noses cut off his ears. That’s it! Slaughter them! Cut off their ears! Take all their money! And drink yourself to death! That’s the life of the Snot-noses – that’s the luck of the Master of Finance
Alfred Jarry, King Ubu (Ubu Roi), Trans. Patrick Wittacker, Smashwords, 2007. https://www.patakosmos.com/database-open-access/king-ubu-alfred-jarry.pdf
Performance Tips
- Lean heavily into the surreal, dreamlike nature
Emotional Beat Breakdown
1. Nightmare Battlefield
- What shifts:
Videos
Links
- Full text of Ubu Roi provided by Patrick Whittaker at Smashwords.com
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