This production of Jarry’s masterpiece stands out as an undoubted highlight of the 2005 Fringe.
Set in bonny old ”Scotchland”, this amazing play follows the actions of the evil Ubu as he strives to become king, no matter how many lives are lost along the way.
It is an incredibly physical piece of theatre that builds in momentum as it follows the exploits of three grotesque characters in their quests for power. In fact, grotesque is certainly the word to describe a lot of the action, and indeed the dialogue, as each potty-mouthed sentence becomes cruder and more offensive than the last. This is not theatre for the faint of heart; it is frantic and explosive and so ridiculously over the top that it can’t help but get into your head.
There are elements of pantomime thrown in, which really shouldn’t work but the actors actually make the audience take part and, in doing so, inextricably link them to whatever they do next. This is no mean feat for a theatre company, as breaking the fourth wall can actually have audiences making for the door (I too am guilty of this), so the fact that they can pull off this sort of behaviour with a good deal of aplomb stands testament to just how good this production really is. Go and see it now!
5/5
Becky Stone
