Ubu Roi

Alternative title
King Ubu
Synopsis
The play by Alfred Jarry. Pere Ubu is an oafish, barely ranking civil servant persuaded by his shrewish wife to kill the King of Poland and usurp the throne. Ubu is unfit to rule anything, so his eventual ascension is a farce. He becomes a violent and incompetent dictator who kills his subjects, destroys the economy, and makes war arbitrarily. The play offers parodic adaptations of situations and plots from Shakespearean drama, including Macbeth, Hamlet and Richard III. Like Macbeth, Ubu murders the king who has helped him on the urging of his wife, usurps the throne and is in turn defeated and killed by the dead man’s sons; Jarry adapts the ghost of the dead king and Fortinbras’s revolt from Hamlet; Buckingham’s refusal of reward for assisting a usurpation from Richard III; and The Winter’s Tale’s bear.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
1976
Duration
50 mins

Credits

Director
Paul Kafno
Writer
Alfred Jarry
Music
Dudley Simpson
Cast
Brenda BruceMa Ubu
Donald PleasencePa Ubu
Gyearbuor AsanteGyron
Jacqueline DelhayeQueen Rosamund
John EvittsKing Wenceslas

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Plays
Macbeth
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Jarry, Alfred

Notes

History
Ubu Roi premiered in 1896, and is widely acknowledged as a theatrical precursor to the Absurdist, Dada and Surrealist art movements. French production company unknown. Shown on ORTF 30 December 1968. British transmission date unknown.
Textual information
Ubu Roi is available at Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) in the original French.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Name

Open University

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Films for the Humanities & Sciences

Email
custserv.@films.com
Web
http://ffh.films.com/ External site opens in new window
Fax
+1 609 671 0266
Address
132 West 31st Street, 17th Floor
New York
NY 10001
USA
Notes
Films for the Humanities & Sciences is part of the US-based Films Media Group and specialises in selling programmes aimed at the HE and FE education and training market. The collection has thousands of titles and a range of separate subject catalogues is available in pdf format at http://ffh.films.com/landing.aspx?show=Catalogs/catalog_FFH.htm. Sale on video/DVD or online viewing via the Films on Demand service.

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Ubu Roi". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av71074 (Accessed 06 Oct 2024)