Edinburgh Evening News
"Astutely performed by an outstanding cast,
this far-out production is top-drawer stuff "
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Edinburgh Guide
"The fiendish and obscene Pa Ubu dons a dodgy tracksuit in this riotous adaptation of an already marvelous play. You won't be able to stop laughing from the moment vulgar, foul-mouthed Ubu runs on stage in his underpants…"
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Hairline
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More on Alfred Jarry

The List
"Achieves an admirable level of outrageous disgust... Original inventive and utterly good fun, the oblique political metaphors are still there, making this an eye-opening modern satire with a very sharp edge."
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Ubu Disco presented by Brute Farce in association with Skullduggery

Alfred Jarry's original Ubu plays, a twisted pastiche of Macbeth, are a foul-smelling concoction: absurd, brutal and scatological, they blend regicide, cowardice, political double-dealing and far-fetched escapes with a shaky grasp of Eastern European geography and a healthy contempt for the conventions of classical theatre.

This anarchic re-working also managed to hurl a pinch of karaoke and a little dash of disco into this evil brew. Presenting Ubu as a DJ at the wedding from hell, battles became dance-offs and the characters, when not butchering one another, put a succession of pop classics to the sword.

Ma Ubu (Emily Outred) tunelessly warbled"Stand by your Man" as she urges her husband Pa (Rob Crouch) to slaughter his way to the throne of Poland. Their ally, the wily Captain McFetid (John Roy), in drag, naturally, belted out "I Want to Break Free" from the dungeons of the City of Thorn. "Murder on the Dance floor" indeed.

The Royal families of Russia and Poland were equally well represented. Jonathan Clarkson playing Prince Buggerov, orphaned by Ubu and the rightful heir to the Polish throne minced, swashed and buckled his way to victory over the vile usurper after trilling "Tragedy" in the tomb of his forebears. James Burton was both sleazy and regal as the ill-fated King "Suspicious Minds" Wencelas and the Russian Czar, military genius and disco dancer.

A myriad of additional parts were played by the company.


The Scotsman
"At a time when Britain's political and historical powerhouses play as handy a role as the proverbial chocolate fireguard, this frivolous adaptation of Alfred Jarry's absurdist classic, Ubu King, hits a rather savvy note."

Scotsgay
"…this is the stuff that the fringe is made of, full of ideas energy and spunk."