An absurdist anti-war play by Michael McClure blending surreal cartoon imagery.
Written in 1971, the play unfolds as an expressionistic, surreal sequence that moves between grotesque humor and stark violence. Framed as an “absurdist anti-war gargoyle cartoon,” it shifts rapidly in tone—cartoonish, tragic, and confrontational—using exaggerated imagery and non-linear action to examine brutality, power, and dehumanization in a world shaped by conflict.
The work is by Michael McClure, an Obie Award–winning poet and playwright associated with the San Francisco Renaissance. This production is shaped by collaborators Dan Safer and Tony Torn, who previously co-created Ubu Sings Ubu.