Alfred Jarry's Absurdist play is presented by a young, international, all female cast in Admiration Theatre's production. 'Ubu Roi' tells the story of Pa Ubu an officer of the King of Poland, King Wenceslas, who is persuaded by his wife, Ma Ubu, to massacre the Royal Family and seize the crown. With the help of his friend and ally Manure, Pa Ubu draws up an army and attacks the King. In the ensuing battle one of the King's sons, Bougrelas, escapes with his mother and is forced to take refuge in the mountains, where he plots his revenge. Meanwhile Pa Ubu is now king and he slaughters all the noblemen of Poland and takes their lands and money, as well as doubling the tax on the common people. He imprisons his friend Manure, who escapes and goes to the Tsar of Russia for help to overthrow the despotic Pa Ubu.

Admiration Theatre's minimalist approach to this surreal play sees the cast dressed all in black and a black box for the set. The characters, set and props are created through mime and the physical theatre.

The production is full of energy with a talented young cast headed by Kyla Davis as a charismatic Pa Ubu. There are excellent performances from Lisa Lee Thomas as Manure, and Daniela Garcia Casilda as Ma Ubu. The cast double up as different characters and distinct characters are created using the physical body and the way they move and hold themselves. At the beginning of the show the cast walk across the stage as the various different characters that they will be playing and you can see the differences.

Props and scenery are created by the cast. In certain scenes the actors who are not in that scene become the set and props, which includes having living scenery. In the opening in Pa Ubu's house his furniture is created by the other cast members, most notably his living armchair that groans and pulls a face when Pa Ubu sits on it and sighs when he gets up. The actors also effectively create a table, a burning house and Ubu's breastplate.

The production is very fluid and scenes change seamlessly into each other, which is very effective and interesting to watch, for example Ma Ubu pulls off the 'set 'of her house with invisible strings, and when Manure escapes from prison the prison walls change into Russian guards.

The production is accompanied by a live saxophonist, Albi Gravener, who also does sound effects to compliment the show. Lighting is used to create atmospheres, and show the feelings of Ubu at different moments.

Admiration Theatre's website quotes 'In surrealism, the key question ceases to be: how good a painter or poet is the artist under discussion? It becomes instead: how well does this artist make use of his medium to project an inner vision that permits us to experience and explore the world?' Physical theatre lends itself well to Jarry's Absurdist play, which gives the audience a new way of looking at the corruption of the power-hungry bourgeois, and physical theatre gives the audience a new way of looking at the play.

It is a very enjoyable, high-energy production, with a high-vocal level. Some aspects of Jarry's play will shock and seem bizarre, with numerous 'Shite!'s and other made up expletives, but the use of mime and physical theatre leaves it to the audience's imagination.