Ubu Roi

Alfred Jarry Directed by Daniel Benoin With: André Marcon, Mélanie Page, Astrid Bas, Maxime Bouteraon, Paul Charieras, Emmanuel Depoix, Benjamin Migneco, Julien Nacache And Olivier Sitruk Duration: 1h20 Alfred Jarry's play Ubu Roi returns to the stage of the Théâtre de Paris from 16 September.

Premiered in 1896 in this very venue, then known as the Théâtre-Nouveau, it is reborn today in a contemporary staging directed by Daniel Benoin. Ubu is a cowardly, greedy, brutal, grotesque man. Pushed by Mère Ubu, he decides to seize absolute power.

He does not conquer: he crushes. He does not govern: he confiscates. He exercises his authority with the delicacy of a tank, in a violence that is both absurd and methodical.

Tyrannical, predatory, murderer of the nobility, magistrates and financiers, he establishes a reign founded on fear, arbitrariness and destruction.

He governs without vision, without strategy, without political intelligence, and quickly finds himself encircled by his own contradictions. His only way out then becomes to press ahead blindly: attacking the outside to mask the collapse within.

He embarks on an absurd war against the "Czar" and Russia, transforming the madness of power into expansionist delusion. Controversial upon its creation, Ubu roi continues to make people laugh and react today.

The character reinvented by Daniel Benoin thus becomes the instinctive reflection of the aggressiveness of an entire society, and the history of this play finds a disturbing, cynical echo with our current world.

“A biting farce" Le Figaro "André Marcon creates a striking Ubu" La Terrasse "A dizzying plunge into the mechanics of power" Nice Matin "A visionary and burning masterpiece" ICI (France Bleu) In co-production with Anthéa, Théâtre d’Antibes IAudience services: 01 86 47 72 49Booking for people with reduced mobility on 01 48 74 72 52.