Kneehigh's Ubu! A Singalong Satire

Based on Alfred Jarry’s ground-breaking play Ubu Roi, which caused riots when first staged in Paris in 1896, Kneehigh’s Ubu! A Singalong Satire promises an equally riotous night out at Leeds Playhouse.

Conceived by Kneehigh's Carl Grose, Charles Hazlewood and Mike Shepherd, it smashes together Jarry’s gleefully rude and deliberately childish script with a crowd- pleasing singalong and a sharp line in contemporary political satire.

Kneehigh’s Ubu! is a comedic study of power and populism – and what better form of popular culture to demonstrate this than mass karaoke?

The show is led by Katy Owen’s tiny, tyrannical Pa Ubu and Mike Shepherd’s pouting, preening Ma Ubu alongside the ever versatile Kneehigh ensemble – a six-strong cast, who create an instant rapport with the audience – and band The Sweaty Bureaucrats.

The selection of songs, arranged by Charles Hazlewood, are inventive and cannily chosen, ranging from ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears and ‘War’ by Edwin Starr to ‘Uptown Funk’ by Mark Ronson and ‘Close to You’ by The Carpenters. And the atmosphere created in the theatre is distinctly festival-like.