it is clear that ubu roi burlesques shakespeare, but it is unlike the drama of its own time too. during an age when ibsen and chekhov were commenting in their own daring ways on the beliefs of their society, no one was quite like jarry. other playwrights put daring words into the speeches of their characters. jarry provided characters who are distortions of people, anatomic miracles and sartorial disasters. ibsen, with his well-made play, suggests that once social laws and attitudes are changed, the world may be an orderly place for reasonable people to live. other playwrights examine the inner lives of characters or puzzled over a philosophy worth believing in. only jarry, by emphasizing the base, brute-like passions of cartoon characters in a chaotic play punctuated by rude music, suggests that humanity isn't worth taking that seriously after all. as you watch ubu roi, you will be amused, if not startled, by the language and the abrupt changes in scene and costume. the convention of announcing an entire army through use of a toy sign is one innovation. you will see other delibe