Unsigned Letters Urge University Ban on 'Ubu Roi'

No official action will be taken against the Quincy House production of Ubu Roi, scheduled for May 6-9, despite two anonymous letters charging that the play is "obscene and indecent."

The letters were sent to Dean Watson and Master Bullit urging Harvard to halt production of the 19th century play by French dadaist Alfred Jarry. The letters were signed "a Harvard employees" and "a Cambridge resident."

Members of the production staff expressed surprise that the play had been so strenuously objected to. Director Paul Zimmet commented that "although Jarry wrote it to shock people--and I'd be pleased if it shook some people--I don't expect it to offend many any more." He added," The emphasis as I'm sure Jarry intended it to be, is on the humor."

The play is a surrealistic farce about Pere Ubu, who is "ugly, pearshaped, greedy, stupid, anal." Zimmet maintains that the only thing unusual about him is that he becomes King of Poland. The play makes liberal use of four-letter words.

A number of theatrical embellishments, some of them experimental, have been added to Jarry's play. These include masks, animated films, extensive sound effects, and original, polytonal music.