Every era has its ultimate filth
Ubu the King by the National Theatre DRAMA in Ljubljana
11. 6. 2017, 19.00 hrs, Drama Stage, SND New Building
Black comedy that contains variations on the Ubutheme, from innocent longing for success to rewards, the desire to be the first and the best, to the allureof victories and major figures, all the way to infantilism and banality of evil, the position of power and reign. (www.delo.si)
If the simplicity of power is the leitmotif of Ubu the King, it is portrayed in the production as an illustration of everyday life. Itposes a legitimate and direct question – or statement: Why should theatre employ political correctness, solidarity, normativity and ethics, if the same is not done by the government, health care and school system. (Dnevnik)
At the time of the première in 1896, Alfred Jarry set in motion a scandal of gigantic proportions that split the Paris public in two. The adversaries of the play were members of the top echelons of Parisian bourgeoisie. They considered Ubu the King to be a direct personal attack, and denial of the established and seemingly working class system. The play that started to emerge in 1885 as student pun, has become, over years, a cult portrayal of decline.
Ubu the King retained its insightful nature, as it unveils the worst within us. The production is a collective work of the Ubu Ensemble, the output of which is a direct example of the inverted logic of humanity. As a character, King Ubu is difficult, yet the principles of his increasingly Fascist being are impossible to be overlooked. It is a mirror that reflects the power and dark game with a great degree of utterly unreservedblackhumour.
Ubu the King, as mastered by the Slovenian National Theatre DRAMA, is likely to prove as provocative as it was during its world première. Directed by Jernej Lorenci, it is a portrayal of primitivism and brutality – of “values” that remain alive today as they were in the second half of the 19th century. Self-delusion caused by the impression that we all are equal, proves determining to our lives. We are driven by the longing for success, admiration, tolerance to injustice, malice, filth, utilitarianism, and materialist lifestyle. That hasbeen transformed into the inability to realise and state: The Emperor has no clothes!
Every era, every nation and the world – everyone has their own King Ubu.
The performance will be accompanied by Slovak and English subtitles.
Tickets are available in SND Box Office and online at www.eurokontext.sk. Telephone reservations can be made at (+421) 2 204 72 289.