Read more on Ubu! – The Design from the Kneehigh Cookbook archive.
Kneehigh’s Ubu was first performed at The Kneehigh Asylum in 2018. The Kneehigh Asylum was a pop-up theatre venue in a large dome tent.
Below is a photo of the model box, created by Designer Michael Vale.
And this is what it looked like in the Asylum tent:
In June 2018, there was a 2-day research and development (R&D) to explore design for Ubu. In the image below, performer Mike Shepherd is wearing an early design for Mrs Ubu, including the fabulous breasts and pointy hat. If you look at some of Jarry’s early sketches you can see how he inspired the design.
Kneehigh’s Ubu was devised and created by the company over a two-week rehearsal period at the Kneehigh Barns in Cornwall.
Below you can see some of the experiments with costume for Bobbi Dallas (played by Kyla Goodey) and Mr and Mrs Ubu (played by Katy Owen and Mike Shepherd), along with some early costume designs from Michael Vale’s sketchbook.
