“What the hell is going on?” was my initial reaction when I entered the theatre room for Ubu Rex. Absurdism was what governed the preface, as the actors flailed around and behaved in meaningless and confusing ways, baffling the audience --precisely the playwright’s intent. Alfred Jerry’s grotesque “Ubu Rex” may well as be the perfect play to describe our current political climate. After all, it does involve a vulgar, incompetent and impulsive individual who manages to bully his way into power, while being unacquainted with state matters or basic etiquettes. Under the Director’s Note, it is mentioned that: “this play was written by rebellious teens to make fun of a teacher. One of them rewrote and launched that script as an assault on everything
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Absurdism “conveys humanity’s sense of alienation and its loss of bearing in an illogical, unjust, and ridiculous world” –as seen in Ubu Rex. Absurdism is also constantly represented by Pa Ubu’s action and character. Unaware of his surroundings, Pa Ubu’s distorted logicality leads him to kill everyone around him. Furthermore, Pa Ubu’s character reflects bourgeois aims and attitudes. This is fairly prominent during the whole play; Pa Ubu is gluttonous, sadistic and egocentric. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth century, bourgeoisie developed and became the predominant form of drama throughout Europe and the United States. According to the social history, social classes determined how an average citizen live. Since the upper class would look down on the lower class, Pa Ubu can be seen to exploit peasants and demonstrate that that kind of behavior was socially acceptable (during that …show more content…
The play does a great job at provoking its audience and the actors embodied their characters exceptionally well. It is a play of a good king being overthrown by the main character, Pa Ubu, who selfishly wants everything to himself. Forced to battle with the king’s surviving son, this play embodies obscene references, absurdism and satirical styles. It’s a rebellion towards realism and bourgeoisie; mocking the social climate of the 18th/19th century. Although originally written 120 years ago, Ubu Rex strongly relates to today’s society— from politics to our own
Absurdism “conveys humanity’s sense of alienation and its loss of bearing in an illogical, unjust, and ridiculous world” –as seen in Ubu Rex. Absurdism is also constantly represented by Pa Ubu’s action and character. Unaware of his surroundings, Pa Ubu’s distorted logicality leads him to kill everyone around him. Furthermore, Pa Ubu’s character reflects bourgeois aims and attitudes. This is fairly prominent during the whole play; Pa Ubu is gluttonous, sadistic and egocentric. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth century, bourgeoisie developed and became the predominant form of drama throughout Europe and the United States. According to the social history, social classes determined how an average citizen live. Since the upper class would look down on the lower class, Pa Ubu can be seen to exploit peasants and demonstrate that that kind of behavior was socially acceptable (during that …show more content…
The play does a great job at provoking its audience and the actors embodied their characters exceptionally well. It is a play of a good king being overthrown by the main character, Pa Ubu, who selfishly wants everything to himself. Forced to battle with the king’s surviving son, this play embodies obscene references, absurdism and satirical styles. It’s a rebellion towards realism and bourgeoisie; mocking the social climate of the 18th/19th century. Although originally written 120 years ago, Ubu Rex strongly relates to today’s society— from politics to our own