WELCOME to the crazy world of Ubu Roi, where a grotesque and cowardly oaf is spurned into Regicide by his greedy and extremely ugly wife; an evening of outrageous antics as Pa Ubu snatches the throne of Poland and gets his come-uppance pursued by the entire Russian army.
This latest production from the Torch Youth Theatre has been described as Monty Python meets Macbeth; a world of paper horses, dish mop judges and more murdered characters than you can shake a stick at.
Originally written as a show for marionette puppets by the playwright Alfred Jarry, it was produced for the first time with human actors in Paris in 1896. The performance broke out in a riot due to the unprintable first line, but has inspired generations of artists and dramatists alike.
The play's influence can be traced to such individual creations as the Marx Brothers films, the Goon Show and 'Mad' magazine, Airplane, The Naked Gun and of course, Monty Python.
Directed by local theatre graduate Tessa French, Ubu Roi plays at the Torch Theatre on Thursday and Friday, February 20 and 21. Tickets are priced £5 and £3.50 concessions.