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This was probably the 1st edition of these plays that I read & the 1st bk by Jarry that I read. This is also sometimes (usually?) credited as the 1st "absurdist" play - the progenitor of the Theater of the Absurd later associated w/ Albee & Ionescu. I don't know of any earlier examples so I accept it as such. Given how important to me ABSURDISM is as a way of annihilating & critiqueing the death-trap of pompousity, this bk occupies a glowing place in my pantheon of rebelliousness. It's far from my favorite Jarry - as I'll probably explain elsewhere multiple times - but it's still monumental: a monument to taking the gas out of the inflations of power. Read this & deSade's "120 Days of Sodom" & a few other things & throw any positive illusions about how the powerful act down the toilet. ( )

These puppet plays were so damn funny that I still pull out the book every once in a while to torture my friends and family. Of course, I have to perform them. Perhaps my little girl will also join in the fun in a few years. Very dark humor, of course, but I don't think it would be much of a stretch to have them made by an Anime company in Japan. ( )

"Merdre!" (in translation: "Pschitt!")

The very first word uttered by Pa Ubu proved to be a bit too much for the sensibility of its audience and led to a riot. The incident has since then become one of the most talked about bits of Jarry's life.

The audience may not have taken their time to get to know Pa Ubu before passing their judgement, their reaction to him was rather appropriate. Pa Ubu is monstrous and grotesque. A crappy character - literally and metaphorically. His physical form is one horrible amalgamation. His conscience lies cramped in a suitcase, covered in cobwebs (and is later shoved headfirst into a toilet). From Wikipedia:

The central character is notorious for his infantile engagement with his world. Ubu inhabits a domain of greedy self-gratification. Jarry's metaphor for the modern man, he is an antihero—fat, ugly, vulgar, gluttonous, grandiose, dishonest, stupid, jejune, voracious, cruel, cowardly and evil....

Pa Ubu is a caricature that not only embodies all kinds of human vices, but follows them to the extreme - to the point of being utterly ridiculous. Jarry intended for him to be the perfect anarchist and Pa Ubu plays that role perfectly well. If Ignatius J. Reilly was too disgusting for your appetite, you may want to stay miles away from Pa Ubu.

The character of Pa Ubu was born in the minds of a few 15 year olds ridiculing one of their teachers. While Jarry's friends left their teenage jokes behind, Jarry went on to transform this character into one of the forerunners of absurd/surrealist theater. In addition, Jarry's creativity with language has also contributed a few new expletives to the French language. Pa Ubu from a drawing by Alfred Jarry:


While Pa Ubu enjoys more popularity, Ma Ubu is just as depraved. She often instigates Pa Ubu into acts of greed and mindless violence. Emerging every now and then to take potshots at Pa Ubu, her character does leave a mark.

The first play, Ubu Roi demonstrates greed and absolute abuse of authority at the hands of Pa Ubu. In the third play, Ubu Enchained, science of pataphysics comes into play and spins the concepts of freedom and slavery on their heads. The plays are absurd and can easily be waved off as juvenile farce. To understand what Jarry meant to showcase through these, it helps to read around the plays a little bit. The plays certainly are good for multiple laughs.

(3.5 stars.)

Bonus link

Ubuweb - a place for all things avant-garde and obscure.

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