The Ubu Repertory Theater is the only US theater dedicated to presenting French-language plays in English translation. The Ubu Repertory Theater provides Americans with a unique perspective into the world of Francophone cultures, including Paris, Brussels, Montreal, Dakar, and Antananarivo.
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History
Founded in 1982 by Françoise Kourilsky, Ubu serves as a forum for cross-cultural exchange. The theater encourages the collaboration of translators, directors, actors, playwrights, and theater professionals as a way to foster international cooperation. Authors commissioned and published by Ubu include: Jean Tardieu, Jean-Claude Grumberg, Simone Schwarz-Bart, Sony Labou Tansi and Bernard-Marie Koltès and Tilly.
The theater
Ubu originally performed in a small, second-floor theater in Chelsea, Manhattan. Recently, Ubu Repertory Theater has moved into offices at 95 Wall Street, working on a number of larger Off-Broadway productions at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's Annex Theater and the Alliance Française French Institute's Florence Gould Hall. Ubu also founded the Ubu Bilingual Company. The troupe has performed bilingual productions including Jean-Paul Sartre's "Huis Clos/No Exit" (1985) and Albert Camus' "Le Malentendu/The Misunderstanding" and "Les Justes/The Just Assassins" (1998).