Ubu Repertory Theater
Encyclopedia
The Ubu Repertory Theater is the only US theater dedicated to presenting French-language plays in English translation. The Ubu Repertory Theater provides Americans with a unique perspective into the world of Francophone
cultures, including Paris, Brussels, Montreal, Dakar
, and Antananarivo
.
, Jean-Claude Grumberg, Simone Schwarz-Bart, Sony Labou Tansi
and Bernard-Marie Koltand Tilly.
. Recently, Ubu Repertory Theater has moved into offices at 95 Wall Street, working on a number of larger Off-Broadway productions at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
's Annex Theater and the Alliance Française French Institute's Florence Gould Hall
. Ubu also founded the Ubu Bilingual Company. The troupe has performed bilingual productions including Jean-Paul Sartre
's "Huis Clos/No Exit
" (1985) and Albert Camus
' "Le Malentendu/The Misunderstanding
" and "Les Justes/The Just Assassins
" (1998).
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
cultures, including Paris, Brussels, Montreal, Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, and Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
.
History
Founded in 1982 by Françoise Kourilsky, Ubu serves as a forum for cross-cultural exchange. The theater encourages the collaboration of translators, directors, actors, playwrights, and theater professionals as a way to foster international cooperation. Authors commissioned and published by Ubu include: Jean TardieuJean Tardieu
Jean Tardieu was a French artist, musician, poet and dramatic author. He earned a degree in literature and worked for a publishing house. He published several poetry collections in the 1930s before starting to write for the stage...
, Jean-Claude Grumberg, Simone Schwarz-Bart, Sony Labou Tansi
Sony Labou Tansi
Sony Lab'ou Tansi was a Congolese novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and poet. Though he was only forty-seven when he died, Tansi remains one of the most prolific African writers and the most internationally renowned practitioner of the "New African Writing." His novel The Antipeople won...
and Bernard-Marie Koltand Tilly.
The theater
Ubu originally performed in a small, second-floor theater in Chelsea, ManhattanChelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
. Recently, Ubu Repertory Theater has moved into offices at 95 Wall Street, working on a number of larger Off-Broadway productions at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
's Annex Theater and the Alliance Française French Institute's Florence Gould Hall
Florence Gould Hall
The Florence Gould Hall is a 400 seat, proscenium stage theatre and concert hall located in the Alliance Française French Institute in New York City, at 55 East 59th Street . It opened in the spring of 1988....
. Ubu also founded the Ubu Bilingual Company. The troupe has performed bilingual productions including Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
's "Huis Clos/No Exit
No Exit
No Exit is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The original French title is Huis Clos, the French equivalent of the legal term in camera, referring to a private discussion behind closed doors; English translations have also been performed under the titles In Camera, No Way Out...
" (1985) and Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
' "Le Malentendu/The Misunderstanding
The Misunderstanding
The Misunderstanding , sometimes published as Cross Purpose, is a play written in 1943 in occupied Paris by Albert Camus.-Plot summary:...
" and "Les Justes/The Just Assassins
The Just Assassins
The Just Assassins is a 1949 play by Algerian writer and philosopher Albert Camus....
" (1998).