Chas Harvey as UBU in the 2022 production, photo by Adam Dugas
UBU 1981 Flier drawn by David Silverman
I’ve been attracted to the theatrical work of The Actors’ Gang since the first show I saw there in 1997. It is visceral, surprising, rude, extremely presentational and very much alive. I began taking their workshops this Spring and was swiftly invited to do more and more with the company.
I am currently making my company debut in the ensemble of Alfred Jarry’s UBU THE KING (UBU ROI), directed by company founder and artistic director Tim Robbins.
If you know UBU, you already know it is loopy. A seminal piece of avant-garde theatre, the play famously debuted in 1896 to a riot (Jarry may have paid friends to do this?), and has been a touchstone of the underground ever since. It is where the punk band Pere Ubu took its name, as well as the alternative arts website/museum Ubuweb.
Tim Robbins and friends founded The Actors’ Gang in 1981 with a production of UBU that ran for six months. Since the company is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year (pandemic math), Tim decided that it was the right time to relaunch the show. Springboarding from a base of the original production, we have built a new show that is fast, dirty, weird, athletic and super fun. We are basically fourteen adults playing dress-up and war.
I am in the ensemble playing a multitude of roles. It is a thrill to be on stage again, performing alongside some of the funniest and most talented comedians and performers I’ve ever met, under the direction of a talented and committed theater artist who also happens to be a movie star.
Please come if you can! It is a short play, about 70 minutes, and a short run.
