In its first two years of production, Dario Fo's controversial farce, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, was seen by over half a million people. It has since been performed all over the world, and become a classic. A sharp and hilarious satire on political corruption, it concerns the case of an anarchist railway worker who, in 1969, 'fell' to his death from a police headquarters window. This version of the play was premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in February 2003.
Dario Fo was an Italian satirist, playwright, theatre director, actor, and composer. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. In 2007 he was ranked Joint Seventh with Stephen Hawking in The Telegraph's list of 100 greatest living geniuses. His dramatic work employed comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the proletarian classes. He owned and operated a theatre company with his wife, the leading actress Franca Rame. Dario Fo died in Milan on October 13th 2016, at the age of 90.
Dario Fo: a theatrical jester who made us laugh in the face of tragedy -Michael Billington
What is satire? Perhaps we know the answer to it as we might have read it at various stages of our life. But why do we read satire? Experts would say that satire is created to raise awareness about certain issues, states of affairs, to put message across to the people using the elements of satire such as irony, humor, hyperbole, sarcasm, exaggeration and others. The idea is to create a universe which may seem to allude to the real-life situation without explicitly mentioning it. And what about its impact, is it any different than any straightaway commentary or reporting about the things which might be going haywire?
What about the artist who creates such satirical art? Why does he infuse his literary energy in the inception of a problem or situation to produce such art? Is it just limited to drawing people鈥檚 attention to the issue or raising awareness about it as if an artist has some moral responsibility to do? Aren鈥檛 the artists supposed to be free from any sort of moral obligations or political leanings but being human how they can be? Nonetheless, what could be the personal motive of an artist to produce satire? Perhaps, it has to do something with their artistic expression itself. Possibly, this artistic mode of expression gives them the breathing space which they may require when they feel a choking sensation rising up in their throats and feel an impulse to throw out because of things which are going on as they should not be. So, is it produced just out of artistic expression or moral responsibility or political leanings, or perhaps because of all, and probably that makes the artists humans and not gods.
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Accidental death of an anarchist satires about one such case from the history of mankind wherein a railway employee was made responsible of bombings before him losing himself to the death and later being absolved of the charges as well. Dario Fo has been able to create an atmosphere of dark humor wherein each revelation strikes like a dagger in your heart without giving you any respite from its momentum. The play revolves around Maniac, a seemingly out of the world character who can pull off many personas with ease. He tricks the policemen into oblong and self-contradictory discourses which finally made them to give in and blew away the cover involving the death of an anarchist.
The readers or the audiences of the play are treated with a dose of humor and irony throughout the play. It talks about the ability of the playwright to move the narrative forward scene by scene through regular bouts of sardonic humor. The revelations of the play are brought to the light gradually, layer by layer with undertones of dark and humor which sows the seeds of thought in the brain of audience to force it to contemplate about the actual situation and to act towards overturning it. The subtle but ironic humor surreptitiously gets under our skin and forces you to ponder upon our society, as to how the various constituents of a society are deceived and their images are used for the interest of those in power, and who ironically run the social engine. The play is a great reminder that political theatre is not unharmonious and desolate as it is often supposed to be. Dario Fo also sways away the notions typically associated with left-wing theatre and affirms with authority that it should not be necessarily a carping groan.
The play leaves you with multiple endings ranging from a reformist attitude, to solve the problems through laws and rules in vogue, to the radical actions which seem to be aligned with the other extreme end of the spectrum. The possible repercussions of those endings are also shown to the audience and thereby the onus is put on the audience, who is entrusted with the moral responsibility to decide and choose and thereby ruminate over the possible outcomes. There are obvious elements of metafiction infused in the play as you expect from Dario Fo making it all the more intriguing and in a way compelling the audience to take part in it and thereby becoming morally conscious and responsible of the outcomes.
Perhaps we can say now with authority that the satires help us to create a sort of defense mechanism to confront reality which otherwise may be unbearable. It helps us to counter the unpleasant reality and see the world naked in its stark actuality. The alternate reality created through the mode of satire seems to parody the intended reality in a way to send shock waves through our consciousness to sensitize ourselves of its vagaries and probably forcing us to think how it can be improved and how could we contribute towards it. And perhaps also to protect the artist from going insane by venting out his exasperating frustration and bitterness to sway his discontent and resentment through the artistic pen of liberation which acts as a savior in the universe of havoc and mayhem.
Deriving from the case of Giuseppe Pinelli, a Milanese railway employee, who in 1969 was picked up by the police, accused of a bombing, before plunging from a fourth-floor window to his death, (later he was finally absolved from any responsibility for the bombings), Italian Playwright and left-wing activist Dario Fo has turned dull political theatre into a lively Marx bothers style slap-stick farce. It plays out at a pacy dynamic speed, (reading in one go is probably wise), contains some hilarious dialogue, and in the 'Maniac' has a character I would have loved to see up on the stage, (Alfred Molina had apparently done a brilliant performance once upon a time). The play carries with it a deep underlying political message that is important to remember, even through the barrel of laughs.
A sensation on it's 1970 release, the heart of the play surrounds an imposter, the maniac, running verbal circles around everyone in his path, including the woolly-headed Inspector Bertozzo and other constables and superintendents at a police HQ in Milan. By using an absurdist and satirical approach towards the issues of power, its abuse, and political stations, Fo creates sense out of nonsensical characters and situations. The maniac, a pimpernel like character, leads the others pretty much round the bend with a head spinning array of questioning, surrounding the death of an anarchist from years before. Under mysterious circumstances the anarchist had thrown himself out the window whilst under a police investigation. But foul play is suspected, and in effect we see the maniac acting in an insane manner towards the accused. He is quick witted and clever, flaunts with admirable pride, causing mayhem and confusion.
You cannot help but love this crazy notion, served up with darkly comedic rewards by the end. You start to wonder just how these events effect your overall views. Your reminded of the reality of the crime, how it really took place, and yet they are forced to laugh at it and find disgust in that humor. It is this form of satire that provokes thoughts and action towards change, which is what Fo wanted. It is this subtle stealthiness of dark humor that creates the desired effect of political theatre: change, perhaps for the better, or in this case, for the playwrights cause. On A lighter note, the ever present window on the forth floor is the only realistic element to contend with, everyone else could have been plucked right out of an abundance of comic films, from The Pink Panther to Carry On.
As a play, it is better seen than read obviously, but the one advantage is you haven't got to worry about the audience shuffling around or heading off to the restroom thus blocking your path. Also drinks are a rip off at the theatre. I can mix my own Cocktails at home for half the price. This play is a potent reminder that leftwing political theatre can be a rapturous joyful experience rather than a borefeast resulting in an induced coma. Thank you Mr Fo for brightening up my afternoon on this rather dreary looking day.
Morte Accidentale di un Anarchico = Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Dario Fo
Accidental Death of an Anarchist is a play by Italian playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature winner Dario Fo. Considered a classic of 20th-century theater, it has been performed across the world in more than forty countries.
The play opens with Inspector Francesco Bertozzo interrogating a clever, quick-witted and mischievous fraudster, simply known as the Maniac, in Bertozzo's office on the third floor of the police headquarters in Milan.
The Maniac constantly outsmarts the dim-witted Bertozzo and, when Bertozzo leaves the room, intercepts a phone call from Inspector Pissani. Pissani reveals to the Maniac that a judge is due at the police station to investigate the interrogation and "accidental" death of the anarchist, whilst the Maniac pretends to be a colleague of Bertozzo's and telling Pissani that Bertozzo is "blowing a raspberry" at him.
The Maniac decides to impersonate the judge, Marco Malipiero, an opportunity he's been waiting awhile for, and to humiliate the policemen responsible for the "accidental" death.
After Bertozzo reenters his office, the Maniac is forced out of the office, taking Bertozzo's coat and hat to use in his disguise. Bertozzo chases him, running into Pissani, who punches him in retaliation for "blowing a raspberry" at him.
The Maniac, now impersonating Malipiero, finds Pissani and his lackey, the Constable, in the room where the anarchist was during his interrogation. Telling them that he is Malipiero, the Maniac asks for the Superintendent, who was involved with the interrogation with Pissani and the Constable.
The Maniac orders the three policemen to re-enact the events of the interrogation; in turn fabricating many of the events, such as changing beating the anarchist to making jokes with him, incorporating new lines into the transcript and even breaking out in song.
When the investigation reaches the matter of the fall, the Constable reveals he grabbed the anarchist's shoe, in an attempt to stop him from falling. However, the Maniac notes that witnesses reported that the anarchist had both shoes on.
When Pissani surmises that the anarchist was wearing a galosh, the Superintendent breaks into a rage, making Pissani accidentally reveal that the Superintendent pushed the anarchist out of the window. The two policemen then realise that the Maniac was listening. The phone in the office suddenly rings, which Pissani answers. He tells them that it is a journalist called Maria Feletti, who the Superintendent agreed to meet to clear rumors about the interrogation, wanting to come up to the office. ...
This is very much theatre of the absurd. It is a chilling comedy of true events and makes me wonder if Dario Fo was friends with . Both of them have a highly developed sense of cynical, sardonic humour and cruelty.
The play is based on the real life event - the death of an anarchist, (never named in play) who committed suicide by jumping, or fell or was thrown from a police station's window after being accused of bombing a bank. He was later cleared of the charge.
The imagined events of Fo's play occur sometime after that. The protagonist, simply called Maniac is one of the funniest characters in all plays I have read - he is a bit like Jack Sparrow, in that until the end there is no way to know whose side he is on or even if he has a real take on the issue. He repeatedly fakes identities and outsmarts police officers - a job made easy by their corruption and hypocrisy. The big final revelation is that the anarchist was a victim of Italian government who was pursuing something called .
The play faced a lot of challenged within Italy including threats of bombing the theater but it didn't affect its popularity. There is a moment when a police officer says that they have spies in audience itself and some voices are heard from among viewers - while this two-way fourth wall breaking is clever in itself, what the officer adds - that they are only fake spies and actual ones are stil sitting silently, might be pointing to the truth given the times it was first performed.
The theme is something universal. In fact, all the time I was reading I was thinking that it might have been written for India or anywhere where people enjoy a good satire (technically it is a farce, not satire) on corrupt government officials - and it has been performed here after making changes to make settings Indian. What's more, India is only one of 40+ other countries where it has been performed
Dario Fo, the Nobel prize winner in 1997, is something of a phenomenon: the brilliant, absurdist, ultra-leftist, anti-fascist Italian playwright, known (along with his wife, Franca Rame, who was kidnapped and raped by Neofascist thugs associated with the carabinieri, police, in 1973) for farce, absurdist comedy, and for wild slapstick one-man improvisational shows.
This Methuen edition is quite good. It contains a detailed biographical chronology, a long scholarly essay on Fo鈥檚 use of farce (and how it differs, as genre, from comedy), his reliance on the old oral traditional storytellers (the fabulatori) of Northern Italy, and contains a thorough discussion of the strange political situation in the 1970鈥檚 鈥淚taly of the mysteries鈥�, the years of PD2 and Operation Gladio, in which CIA-funded Italian Neofascists vied with Red terrorists to undermine democratic (actually, Christian Democratic) governments in Rome. Finally, there are a set of contextual notes to the English translation, and a bibliography. All round, an excellent reader鈥檚 edition.
One thing that is interesting is that Fo did not consider himself avant-garde (like Ionescu or Beckett), but sought instead to connect himself with the popular culture of the Italian countryside 鈥� a culture of rude comedic farce, puppet shows, impersonations, fabulatori, etc., which he then connected with powerful and uncompromising political broadsides. In this way, he sought to rehabilitate the non-elitist culture of the 鈥榩eople鈥� in a Gramscian way.
Ho due confessioni da fare. La prima 猫 che ammetto la mia ignoranza sul caso Pinelli. Quando successe non ero ancora nata e nonostante nella mia citt脿 ci sia un piccolo teatro d鈥檃vanguardia a lui dedicato, non ho mai pensato di documentarmi. La seconda 猫 che con Dario Fo partivo molto prevenuta, per quell鈥檌dea di personaggio bislacco che lo accompagna e che mai mi 猫 piaciuto. Detto questo devo dire che sono rimasta piacevolmente colpita dallo scritto. Un dramma ironico in cui un matto sembra smascherare le malefatte e gli occultamenti effettuati dalla polizia nel caso della morte di Pinelli ( precipitato 鈥� accidentalmente鈥� da una finestra della questura di Milano il 15 dicembre del 1969). Forse il matto 猫 quello che meglio vede la verit脿 in un mondo di savi con gli occhi bendati.
There is no greater equalizer than the stupidity of men- especially when those men have power.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist is an absurdist play in two acts, scrutinizing censorship, cover-ups, fascism, corruption of the authorities and political intrigues and machinations.
鈥淢orte accidentale di un anarchico鈥� 猫 una celebre commedia di Dario Fo, rappresentata per la prima volta nel 1970. La trama si basa sulla morte sospetta dell'anarchico Giuseppe Pinelli avvenuta durante un interrogatorio in questura nel 1969, inizialmente classificata come 鈥渕alore attivo鈥�.
Fo e il suo gruppo teatrale affrontarono oltre quaranta processi in Italia a causa dello spettacolo. Per evitare ulteriori problemi, Fo ambient貌 la storia negli Stati Uniti, ispirandosi a un caso simile accaduto a New York negli anni '20.
La commedia si basa su materiali come verbali di processi, articoli e interviste, evolvendo attraverso tre stesure dal 1970 al 1973 a seguito di nuove informazioni sul caso Pinelli. Questi materiali eterogenei tra loro vengono sfruttati in modo eccezionale in un continuum di colpi di scena e battute geniali inscenate, con la tecnica del teatro nel teatro, dal personaggio del Matto: il quale continua a travestirsi e imbrogliare chiunque abbia davanti.
Fo utilizza la storia di Pinelli come punto di partenza per esporre e criticare le ingiustizie, le manipolazioni e le contraddizioni presenti nella societ脿 e nelle istituzioni. La morte di Pinelli diventa quindi una metafora per esplorare temi pi霉 ampi legati al potere, alla corruzione, alla censura e alla repressione politica.
A satirical play that skewers political corruption and police misconduct in 1960s Italy. Staged in a Milan police station, where an anarchist suspect has mysteriously taken a nosedive out of a window during an interrogation. Inspector Bertozzi questions the Maniac, a chameleon of chaos, who infiltrates the station by donning various official guises. Through his antics, he exposes the laughable inconsistencies and outright fabrications in the police's account of the anarchist's untimely demise, laying bare the systemic rot and bungling within the force.
The Maniac's relentless impersonations and razor-sharp repartee propel the plot, as he compels the bumbling inspectors, constables and policemen to reenact the fateful events. His incisive humor and biting satire lay bare the farcical nature of the police's cover-up attempts. The play crescendos in a riotous and darkly comedic showdown, where the Maniac leaves the audience grappling with a moral conundrum, questioning the essence of justice and the legitimacy of authority in a corrupt society.
Fo blends elements of commedia dell'arte with contemporary political satire and some killer lines, keeping Accidental Death of an Anarchist potent and relevant and challenging us to reflect on the integrity of those in power and the mechanisms of justice.
"BERTOZZO: I ought to warn you that the author of this sick little play, Dario Fo, has the traditional, irrational hatred of the police common to all narrow-minded left-wingers and so I shall, no doubt, be the unwilling butt of endless anti-authoritarian jibes.
CONSTABLE encounters a mouse trap hidden in the filing cabinet and he yells.
BERTOZZO: Please bear with me.
INSPECTOR BERTOZZO picks up a visiting card and studies it, looking up at the MANIAC.
BERTOZZO: This isn鈥檛 the first time that you鈥檝e been up for impersonation is it? In all you have been arrested... let me see...
He leafs through the papers in front of him.
BERTOZZO: Twice as a surgeon, three times as a bishop, army captain, tennis umpire...
MANIAC: Eleven arrests altogether, but I鈥檇 like to point out that I have never actually been convicted, Inspector.
BERTOZZO: I don鈥檛 know how the hell you have been getting away with it, but this time we鈥檒l have you. That鈥檚 a promise.
MANIAC: Mouthwatering, isn鈥檛 it? A nice clean record like mine just begging to be defiled.
BERTOZZO: The charges state that you falsely assumed the identity of a professor of psychiatry and former don of the University of Padua. That鈥檚 fraud.
MANIAC: Fraud when committed by a sane man, yes indeed, but I am a lunatic. A certified psychotic! There鈥檚 my medical report."