König Ubu
On December 10, 1896, the Théâtre de l'Œuvre presented Alfred Jarry's soon legendary "Ubu Roi", at Nouveau-Théâtre, 15, rue Blanche, with actor Firmin Gémier in the title role. Jarry had finished this epochal play about human greed, cowardice, and stupidity just six months before it would shock the audiences with its unapologetic opening line, "Merdre" and its playfully theatrical, marionette-like performance style. Though Jarry affected an attitude of political indifference, his revolutionary ideas challenged assumptions about society, propriety, and existence. Brockett notes that ""Ubu Roi" shows in all its grotesqueness a world without human decency." In this lithograph announcement by Jarry for the premiere of "Ubu Roi", the obese, tyrannical King Ubu appears as a shadow puppet with a segmented arm. He brandishes a scimitar in one hand and clutches a sack of gold in the other.