Splendid Productions: UBU

We were fortunate enough to watch one of the first performances of UBU, Splendid Productions’ adaptation of the classic story, performed in October at Kennet School. This performance was highly engaging and memorable due to its enlightening nature of exposing current political situations.

The narrative followed the manipulative tyrant dubbed ‘Ubu’, whose state is initially left to the audience's interpretation. Upon the arrival of a journalist, Ubu explains his forceful seizing of power and questionable methods of ruling. This is demonstrated by his involvement in a scripted retelling of his life alongside the less enthusiastic journalist.

Ubu's character captivated us and, through his reflection of familiar mannerisms that we could subconsciously link to current political figures, we were encouraged to form a series of questions that gave insight to the current state of global politics. Ubu sported an oversized, red tie reflective of Donald Trump's peculiar dress sense, cleverly illustrated the quirks of our very own ‘BoJo’ and raised our suspicions of various dictators including the Brazilian leader Getúlio Vargas.