‘Ubu Roi’ at Throughline Theatre; Little Lake Theatre Has ‘Hay Fever’ (Thurs., 6/28/18)

Long before Apple’s ‘Think Different’ ads, there was Alfred Jarry, author of ‘Ubu Roi.’

1) Ubu Roi is one of the weirdest plays ever written. Since its 1896 premiere, it has inspired more than a century’s worth of absurd theater and other arts, and it is the only play that begins—in the original French—with the line “Merdre!” That’s French for “Shit!” but with an extra “r” added. Playwright Alfred Jarry had more than one “r” in his name, so he wrote the expletive to match. Jarry was a five-foot-tall intellectual who liked to pedal his bicycle through the streets of Paris while high on absinthe and carrying a loaded pistol. (Fortunately he used the gun mostly for recreational shooting, at home in his apartment.) Ubu Roi’s premiere ran for only one performance. The audience rioted. It seems they didn’t appreciate a comedy that parodies Macbeth, capitalism, and the utter depravity of humankind all at once. The title character, Ubu, is an obscenely bloated, foul-mouthed ignoramus who somehow becomes king. Similarities to real persons always have been coincidental. Throughline Theatre, a small company that plays big, performs Ubu Roi in Pittsburgh. 8p.m. Performances continue through June 30. 937 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. (MV)

2) If summer means “light” theater, then summer means Noël Coward, and Little Lake Theatre is staging his 1925 comedy of manners Hay Fever. Why is a play of this type called a comedy of manners? Probably because it’s about upper-class folks who have good manners, except they lose their manners when they get flustered. Coward was a master of the form. Born in 1899 into a struggling family far below England’s upper ranks, he became a high-society favorite by virtue of his wit and theatrical talents. A flamboyant fellow also known as one of the truly nice guys in show biz, Coward often acted in the plays he wrote. His comedies remain popular because they’re organically funny—that is, the humor flows naturally from the characters’ quirks and situations, instead of from laugh lines or gags jammed in merely for comic effect. Time and again, Coward’s keen observations of human nature shine through. In Hay Fever, four members of an eccentric family each invite a house guest for the weekend. The guests turn out to be an oddly mismatched bunch and they’re not prepared for the family’s oddities. 8 p.m. Performances continue through July 7. 500 Lakeside Dr. South, Canonsburg. (MV)

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