| 12/10/1896 |
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Jarry, Ubu Roi, Riot
On this day in 1896, Alfred Jarry's avant-garde play, Ubu Roi, opened and closed in Paris. When Ubu came on stage with a large target drawn on his belly, a toilet-brush for a scepter, and the play's opening line of "Merdre!" there was a 15-minute riot. W. B. Yeats was present, and later summarized the new style in prophetic terms: "After us the Savage God." |
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