FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, June 11, 2014

Media contact: Linda Litwack Publicity, 416-782-7837,

UBU MAYOR: A Harmful Bit of Fun
September 12-21, 2014 in Toronto

Renowned antics of Toronto's mayor meet radical spirit of

merde-filled classic in new play with live music

Just in time for Toronto's highly anticipated municipal election, “Toronto's enterprising One Little Goat Theatre Company” (New York Times) presents the world premiere of Ubu Mayor: A Harmful Bit of Fun. Written, directed and composedby Artistic Director Adam Seelig, this production is One Little Goat's first to feature live music. It combines the internationally broadcast antics, absurdities and obscenities of Toronto's mayor with the radical spirit of Ubu Roi, French writer Alfred Jarry's merde-filled masterpiece of 1896.

The Equity production opens Friday, September 12, 2014 and runs to Sunday, September 21, Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Wychwood Theatre, 601 Christie Street, located in Artscape's Wychwood Barns. Tickets are $25; $20 for students, seniors and artists. Information and tickets may be obtained by calling One Little Goat Theatre Company at 416-915-0201 or visiting .

Director of the highly acclaimed The Charge of the Expormidable Moose ("a tour de force" –Globe and Mail) and writer of plays including Antigone:Insurgency(NNNN –Now) and Talking Masks (**** –Eye), Adam Seelig has now written his first musical.

"I'm uneasy with the idea of musicals, even if they worked for Brecht," he says, "so I prefer to call Ubu Mayora play with music." Seelig's original, bitingly satirical songs for the play include B-b-b-b-b-bacon, Etobicokaine, Plenty to Eat at Home and others.

Ubu Mayor combines the buffoonery of Alfred Jarry's dadaist classic with the widely reported, alleged sexist, racist, homophobic and criminal scandals of Toronto’s current mayor, along with his city councillor brother. Nevertheless, the play does not directly represent actual political figures.

"This is not journalistic theatre," says Seelig, "nor is it political or verbatim theatre. People familiar with the recent mayoral scandals will appreciate how they're woven into the play. Those who don't will simply enjoy Ubu Mayor for what it truly is: an all-out romp of asinine absurdity. With 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 Ubu wants what's best for the city, but both his love and his political ideals are foiled by brother Dudu's machinations. The three-person Equity cast will be announced this summer.

The design team for Ubu Mayor boasts numerous Dora nominations, with sets and costumes by Jackie Chau and lighting by Laird MacDonald.

Arranging the music and live band for the production is virtuoso bassist Tyler Emond. Emond regularly accompanies leading musicians in multiple genres, including multi-gold album artist Matt Dusk, Jessica Stuart, Mr. Something Something and Randy Brecker; and his own bands, Hylia and Tin Can Man. He is the 2007 recipient of Humber College's highest distinction in music, the Oscar Peterson Prize.

Adam Seelig is a poet, playwright, stage director, and founder of Toronto’s One Little Goat Theatre Company. Born and raised in Vancouver, Seelig has also lived in northern California, New York, England and Israel. He is the author of the novella Every Day in the Morning (slow) (New Star Books, shortlisted for the 2011 ReLit Award). Some of his previous plays include Antigone:Insurgency (Toronto 2007) Talking Masks (Toronto 2009; published by BookThug) and Like the First Time (Toronto 2011; published by BookThug). Seelig is the recipient of a Commonwealth Fellowship and a Stanford Golden Grant for his work on Samuel Beckett’s manuscripts. He is a 2013/2014 RBC Director at Canadian Stage.

One Little Goat, North America’s only company devoted to contemporary poetic theatre, “has done audiences a huge service” (Toronto Star) through its highly interpretive, provocative approach to new and international plays. The company's Canadian and world premieres have garnered praise from the New York Times, Globe and Mail, Economist, Now and others. More information on the company is available at

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The Media is Invited: Fri & Sat, Sept. 12 & 13, 8 p.m.; Sun Sept. 14, 2 p.m.

For media reservations, interviews, photos and further info, contact:

Linda Litwack

416-782-7837

e-mail:

Main Pronunciations:

Seelig – SEE-lig

Chau – Chow

Emond — eh-MON

Ubu (Mayor) – OO-boo

Huhu – HOO-hoo

Dudu – DOO-doo

Ubu Roi (French pronunciation of Jarry’s play): - Ü-bü rwah