UBU REX

A Production by Application Rejected

Acting and Creation by Charlie Mills, Jana Serra, Anna Castells, and Marcel Molina

Original Text by Alfred Jarry

Authors by Charlie Mills and Jana Serra Sentenlla

Translation into Catalan by Jana Serra Sentinella

Scenography and Costume Design by Jana Serra Sentinella

Puppets and Objects by Charlie Mills and Jessica Evans

Sound Design and Music by Marcel Molina and Anna Castells

Lighting Design by Isabel Joaniquet

Thanks to Eòlia+ID, Visionaris de Novaveu, Refugi Cuberes, and Teatre Tantarantana.

"The hunger for power is NOT satisfied when the Ubu family stages a coup, and this will be their downfall. MA and PA UBU, a couple resembling a pustule, find themselves alone and banished but still with the same fervor to conquer the desired empire once again. UBU REX, our adaptation of Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry, is a multidisciplinary satire that plays and creates from the languages we speak, object work and puppetry, live music, and a lot of theater. An allegory of power, corruption, but also of imagination and childhood. Two actors play the Ubu couple, illustrating the other characters of the play, how power has made us travel through a bloody, dirty, and corrupt history." - Synopsis

UBU REX, our adaptation of Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry, is a multidisciplinary satire that plays and creates from the languages we speak, Catalan, English, Spanish, and French. It is a show that demands plasticity; therefore, there are only two actors and the rest of the thirty-four characters are puppets, which are part of various manipulation techniques; finger puppets, glove puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets, table-top puppets, etc. Many of them are designed with "an inner life", as their bodies can be filled with brains, entrails, and tongues.

Ma and Pa Ubu are two characters inspired by public figures who, through the technique of buffoonery, become grotesque beings that can mock the "unmockable". The two actors, Charlie Mills and Jana Serra, investigate through different disciplines how to cover an entire story and thus reinforce the idea of excess and pathos. Live music, or the one-person orchestra, is essential for the development of the piece, as it accompanies and narrates decisive moments. This sound space is composed of an electric piano, a small mixing piano, a computer, a bass, a microphone, four kazoos, and even a beer can, which, if blown in a certain way, makes the sound of a motor when started. Sometimes all of this is played by Anna Castells and sometimes by Marcel Molina.

The play is selected by Visionaris de Novaveu to be performed at Teatre Tantarantana in November 2022, during the 2022-2023 season, thus being the company's first production to be performed professionally. Subsequently, the play participates in the RBLS Festival with a single and exclusive performance at the Antic Teatre. The show returns for a season at Teatre Eòlia, being a restaging of the piece originally premiered at Àtic 22 of Teatre Tantarantana. Currently, the play is exhibited as an artistic installation at art festivals such as Terra Roia in Vilamur or Amb Pany i Forrallat in Sorre i Altron.