Just in time for Toronto’s highly anticipated municipal election, Ubu Mayor combines the radical spirit of Ubu Roi, French writer Alfred Jarry‘s outrageous masterpiece of 1896, with the internationally broadcast antics and obscenities of Toronto’s mayor and brother, Rob and Doug Ford. This marks One Little Goat‘s first production featuring live music.

Ubu Mayor involves a mayor (Ubu) whose wife (Huhu) is having an affair with his older brother (Dudu). Ubu wants Huhu to love him again and he wants what’s best for the city, but both his love and political ideals are foiled by brother Dudu’s machinations.

The play features 2012 Dora Award winner Astrid Van Wieren (This Wide Night, My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding) as Huhu; Michael Dufays (2013 Dora Award nominee for Arigato Tokyo) as Dudu; and Richard Harte (Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Boys in the Photograph, One Little Goat’s Antigone:Insurgency) as Ubu, the play’s mayor.

Director of highly acclaimed, and also some of my favourite plays, The Charge of the Expormidable Moose and writer of plays including Antigone:Insurgency, and Talking Masks, Adam Seelig has now written his first “play with music.” Seelig’s original songs for the play include B-b-b-b-b-bacon, Etobicokaine, Plenty to Eat at Home and others. You can imagine where the inspiration for these came from… wink, wink.

Director Adam Seelig, on piano Photo: One Little Goat Theatre Co.

Directing the music and live band for the production is virtuoso bassist Tyler Emond. Joining Emond will be Jeff Halischuk on drumbs, and Seelig on piano. The design team also boasts numerous Dora nominations, with sets and costumes by Jackie Chau and lighting by Laird MacDonald.

Ubu Mayor is at least the fourth theatrical production internationally inspired this year alone by Alfred Jarry’s Le Roi Ubu. The first was in New York. The second is King Ubu, which played at the Edinburgh Fringe last month.  And an Ubu-inspired puppet play will also played in Edinburg.

The Equity production opens tomorrow, Friday, September 12th, and runs to Sunday, September 21st, Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Wychwood Theatre (map). Tickets are $25; $20 for students, seniors and artists. Information and tickets may be obtained by calling the company at 416-915-0201 or online at OneLittleGoat.org.

Ubu Mayor Cast Photo: Yuri Dojc