King Ubu presented by Pointless Theatre at Flashpoint

King Ubu

Flashpoint
916 G St NW Washington

Pointless Theatre presents a take on one of the iconic works of the early avant-garde. King Ubu is a new translation of Alfred Jarry's seminal Ubu Roi, which has been sticking its tongue out at politics, war, and theatre orthodoxy since its premiere in 1896. Hilarious, violent, and absurd, King Ubu promises audiences lowbrow humor, ludicrous language, and full-bore puppet carnage all wrapped up into a funhouse take on classical tragedy.

Presented by Pointless Theatre

Thru - Jan 7, 2017

Price: $18 - $30

Box Office: 202-315-1305

www.pointlesstheatre.com/

King Ubu Reviews

Average Rating based on 5 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Recommended

"...Who needs a transition team and Cabinet announcements? When political power changes hands in the world of "King Ubu," Pointless Theatre's smart, playful new offering, the switch-over principally involves a commode."

Read Full Review

- Celia Wren

DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended

"...Together with their most recent show, Hugo Ball: A Dada Puppet Adventure, Pointless is carving a niche for itself as DC’s premiere harbinger of the historical avant garde. But far from being a dusty museum piece, King Ubu, like Hugo, is a vibrant piece of storytelling that exemplifies all that live theatre – and only live theatre – has to offer. So get down to see Flashpoint and see Ubu before all that eggnog goes to your head – trust me, this turd has no need for polish."

Read Full Review

- Michael Poandl

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

"...Frank Labovitz directed and designed the set for 'King Ubu.' His direction was very quick paced and smart. The whole performance was surprisingly intellectual. The quick pace could be daunting to off-putting to those unfamiliar with what they are getting into. Fans of absurd theatre, however, will find the performance hilarious and endearing. It is an incredibly fun night of theatre and could offer a great escape from some of the holiday madness in the coming weeks."

Read Full Review

- Elle Marie Sullivan

Theatre Bloom - Recommended

"...What a bitch of a time. The play is shit. You've Alfred Jarry to thank for that. The production is unique. You've Pointless Theatre Company to thank for that. In a new adaptation, translated by none other than the infamous Google-Translate (that bugger's been mucking things up for years!), from the original Ubu Roi, comes a fitting-for-the-times disastrous calamity that they're calling King Ubu, they being Pointless Theatre Company. Directed by Frank Labovitz with Musical Direction by Mike Winch, this whole absurdist nightmare is simply that: absurd- and that's putting it politely. Though by Ubu's damnable green candle you've got to take this rare opportunity to see such a bizarre and bent piece of theatre. Rarely produced outside of the collegiate scene- where disgruntled adjuncts have axes to grind and agendas to burn- Jarry's work in all its vulgarity is prime for the time, so to speak. Political upheaval, corruption seizing power without any experience or logic to support such a shift, it all feels surprisingly relevant despite being completely preposterous."

Read Full Review

- Amanda Gunther

DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended

"...It's easy to sit and make all sorts of comparisons between the egotistical, anti-political, rapacious Ubu and various contemporary figures, but this century-old play is no allegory. Pointless Theatre translated it from the French via Google (resulting in such wonderful nonsense words as "earens"), and presumably started preparing the production months ago - they could not have intended any obvious allusions."

Read Full Review

- Brett Steven Abelman

King Ubu Photo Gallery

King Ubu presented by Pointless Theatre at Flashpoint

King Ubu

King Ubu Reviews

Washington Post - Recommended

DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

Theatre Bloom - Recommended

DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended

King Ubu Photo Gallery

Explore More

Other Sites