sit, ubu, sit

The surreal and obscene stage play Ubu Roi (see previously) by Alfred Jarry opened and closed to audiences on this day in 1896 at Théâtre de l'Œuvre in Paris after the performance incited rioting. A synthesis of Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear through the comic grotesque lens of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel franchise. Jarry (*1837 – 1907) expounded on the symbolism and allegory behind his controversial play in a novel published two years after its celebrated primier, The Exploits and Opinions of Doctor Fasutroll, Pataphysician that defined the discipline of 'pataphysics, the underpinning theme throughout his writing, as beyond the metaphysical realm and concerned itself with finding imaginary solutions and the study of laws that government exceptions, as a primer to his two sequel—unfornutately never staged in Jarry’s life time. The US television production company founded by Gary David Goldberg (Family Ties, Spin City) has for its mascot the producer’s dog, namesake of the titular character. See more at the links above, including a modern performance at the link up top.