The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey TIMOn OF AtHEns: Know-the-Show Guide — 1
Know-the-Show Support Materials compiled and arranged by the Education Department of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey In This Guide:TIMOn OF AtHEns: Know-the-Show Guide — 2 Director’s Notes...... p1 Accidental Death of an Anarchist: A Synopsis...... p2 Who’s Who in the Play...... p3 About the Playwright...... p4 About the Translator...... p5
In His Own Words: From Fo’s 1997 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech...... p5 Fo’s Call to Action...... p7 Further Reading...... p7 Commedia Dell’Arte...... p8 Commentary and Criticism...... p9 About The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey...... back cover The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH TIMOOF ANn ANARCOF AtHEHInsST:: Know-the-Show Guide
DIRECTOR’S NOTES: Accidental Death of an Anarchist
Dario Fo is an internationally acclaimed playwright, director, actor and composer. Born in 1926 in the village of Sangiano, in Lombardy, Italy, his upbringing would greatly influence his life and his career. His grandfather told stories to attract customers to his produce cart. Fo’s father, a fervent socialist, held a job as a railway station worker but, in his free time, was an amateur actor. Fo’s mother wrote an autobiographical account of her childhood. The necessity of storytelling and performance was ingrained in Dario’s bloodline.
In 1997, after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, he spoke about the people in his childhood community and how they affected his art: “They were the old storytellers, the master glass blowers, who taught me and other children the craftsmanship, the art, of spinning fantastic yarns. We would listen to them, bursting with laughter - laughter that would stick in our throats as the tragic allusion that surmounted each sarcasm would dawn on us.”
Alongside art, politics shared an integral role in Fo’s development. During WWII, his family smuggled refugees, allied soldiers, and Jewish scientists into Switzerland. Toward the end of WWII, while attending college, Dario was conscripted to Mussolini’s army but refused to fight, opting instead to hide in an attic until the war was over.
Initially studying to be an architect, Fo made his acting debut in Milan in 1952 and began writing satirical cabarets. In 1954, he married Franca Rame, who was also from a theatrical family, and in 1959, they started their own theatre: Fo- Rame Theatre Company. Fo would write, direct, design, and compose the shows while Rame would frequently star. This is where Fo’s career in the theatre took flight.
To this date, Dario Fo has written over 70 plays. Due to its pointed and satirical nature, his work is commonly censored by authority, both religious and political. But his understanding of the power of storytelling and his commitment to the plight of common man earned him the adoration of the public. Though he has been banned, threatened, rioted against, and arrested on behalf of his art, his plays continue to be performed in over 40 countries.
“Comedy is a form of madness” – Dario Fo
Accidental Death of an Anarchist takes place in Milan, Italy in 1970. In the 1960s, Italian labor unions gained significant strength, forcing the government to overprint money in order to pay wages, thereby causing run-away inflation. Toward the end of 1960s, unions began to strike, calling for better pay and working conditions. The youth of Italy piggy-backed this cause and began protesting against their professors, the church, and the communist party. Many of these strikes and protests were met with violent retribution from the police. This period of time was known as “Hot Autumn.” Capitalizing on “Hot Autumn” were the neo-fascist groups, many of whom were backed and armed by the police. They began performing acts of terrorism in order to undermine the protests and strengthen the right-wing party.
Giuseppe Pinelli was a 41-year-old railway worker and anarchist. On December 12th, 1969, a bomb went off at the Milan Bank of Agriculture. Pinelli was arrested, interrogated and kept in custody for three days. On December 15th, he fell to his death from the fourth floor of the police building. Fo wrote Accidental Death... in reaction to these events. Most of the information in the play is a dramatic reworking of the findings of the investigative journalists.
-1- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide Accidental Death of an Anarchist: A Synopsis
TIME AND PLACE: A police stati on in Milan, Italy. 1970. prompts them to re-enact In a second story offi ce, Inspector Bertozzo interrogates a man the anarchist’s Early in the play, the (referred to as “the Maniac” by the playwright). With a record interrogati on. Maniac refers to himself of impersonati ng dozens of people, the Maniac is currently According to as a “histromaniac.” accused of impersonati ng a psychologist and charging his the two men, ‘What is that?’ you pati ents astronomical fees. The Maniac witti ly defends himself, the interview are probably asking, claiming that he studied psychology by living in a mental concluded insti tuti on and can therefore rightly call himself a psychologist. with the especially since it is a When Bertozzo threatens the Maniac, the Maniac reminds the anarchist being wholly made-up word. inspector of what the repercussions of harming him would be seized by a Here’s it’s origin: –all of which he apparently learned from a lawyer at the mental “raptus,” which insti tuti on. culminated his·tri·on·ic [HISS-tree-on-ik] in his sudden The Maniac’s sharp wit leads Bertozzo to call into questi on adj. 1. of or pertaining to actors or suicidal leap the man’s claims of insanity. Frustrated, the inspector acti ng. out of the encourages the Maniac to give him his statement so that he 2. deliberately aff ected or window. With can be released. Horrifi ed, the Maniac begs Bertozzo to keep self-consciously emoti onal; encouragement overly dramati c, in behavior him at the police stati on, saying that he would sooner jump from the or speech. out of a window than brave the danger of the streets. As the Maniac, the n. 3. an actor. Maniac att empts to jump out the window, the inspector and Superintendent the constable chase him around the room to prevent him from and the -from the Late Lati n histriōnicus killing himself. Finally Bertozzo forces the Maniac to leave, and Inspector for “a player,” from histriō then rushes off to a meeti ng. reveal that the meaning “actor.” The Maniac sneaks back into the empty room and begins “anarchist” rifl ing through the inspector’s fi les. As he is about to destroy was actually an the records of his charges, he discovers a fi le that refers to the innocent man sudden death of a man (an accused anarchist) while in the they had randomly arrested, to whom they told several lies to process of being interrogated at the police stati on. The phone in order to get him to “confess.” In additi on, they disclose that rings. The Maniac answers it and begins speaking with a police they fabricated informati on to give to the media about the inspector from the fourth fl oor. The man on the other end of anarchist and his death. the phone warns the Maniac (who pretends to be a man named The Maniac (sti ll disguised as the Judge) tells the two that the Anghiari) that a High Court Judge has been sent up from Rome. government is furious with them, and that they will be heavily The Maniac speculates that the judge has been specifi cally sent punished. Then, in an act likely reminiscent of the true events to deal with the mysterious death of the anarchist. Following of the anarchist’s interrogati on, the Maniac tries to force the the barrage of insults he hurls at the fourth-fl oor inspector, the Superintendant and the inspector to jump out the window. Maniac decides to impersonate the High Court Judge. Inspector At that moment, the constable walks into the offi ce. As the Bertozzo re-enters the offi ce as the Maniac disguises himself, shamed offi cers try to regain their composure, the Maniac causing some confusion. tells the constable that the men were merely experiencing a The Maniac then goes to the fourth fl oor and waits for the “raptus.” He then gives them a taste of their own medicine, by inspector (identi fi ed as the Inspector in the Sports Coat) with telling them that what he said before was a lie: the government whom he had just spoken on the phone. Aft er thoroughly is, in fact, delighted with them. aggravati ng the man, the Maniac identi fi es himself as the judge WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!------from the High Court, calls for the Superintendent, and begins With further cunning, the Maniac prods the men to confess that questi oning the two men about the death of the anarchist. He they rewrote the report of the anarchist’s fall from the window -2- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide SPOILER ALERT!! to make themselves seem innocent of his death. He then fascists rather than anarchists. Moreover, the fascists were further mocks the men by collaborati ng with them to write an aided and abett ed by the police in order to put blame on the even more outrageous rewrite of the report that makes the men left ist groups. The Maniac confi rms her suspicions that the seem even less guilty of the man’s death. anarchist was an innocent pawn in the police system’s corrupt plan to cover up their past wrongdoings. Aft er conti nuous mocking that goes over the heads of the Inspector and the Superintendent, a journalist, Maria Feletti , The Inspectors and the Superintendent are baffl ed by the arrives to interview the Superintendent. In order to quell the Maniac’s eagerness to uncover their corrupti on, but just as men’s fear that the High Court Judge’s visit will leak to the press, Bertozzo is about to expose the Maniac as an infamous identi ty- the Maniac removes his disguise and impersonates Captain thief, the journalist reveals that she has known all along that Piccinni. The reporter’s superior intelligence and wealth of he is in fact the Bishop. Revealing his clerical garb, the Maniac facts soon has the Superintendent and the Inspector once again explains that, as Bishop, he is responsible for Vati can relati ons scrambling to cover up their guilt. The Maniac pretends to aid with the Italian police. As the Maniac is ironically convincing them in their feeble defense. the journalist that scandal is a truly good thing, Bertozzo pulls a gun on him, and has the constable handcuff everyone to the Inspector Bertozzo enters the offi ce, almost blowing the wall so that they will stay and listen to the Maniac’s confession Maniac’s cover. He claims to have a replica of a bomb, planted of his true identi ty. The Maniac indeed confesses, and then by a left -wing politi cal group, that went off at the bank on reveals his fi nal secret: he has recorded the enti re event and will the same day that the anarchist had been arrested and taken distribute the evidence of the police department’s corrupti on to to police headquarters. The reporter sees clearly that the every newspaper in the country. bombing—one among over a hundred—was carried out by
Who’s Who in the Play:
The Maniac—a wily histromanaic, bent on exposing politi cal corrupti on.
The First Constable—a blundering police offi cer whose greatest skill is following unreasonable orders.
Inspector Bertozzo—an irritable offi cer who fears that the press will discover the wrongdoings at police headquarters.
The Superintendent—the chief offi cer at the police stati on whose goal is to cover up his mistakes and the corrupti on of the system. Edmond Genest (The Superintendent), The Inspector in the Sports Coat—the subordinate of the Philip Goodwin (Inspector Bertozzo), superintendent, who is also intent on creati ng lies to prove Jeffrey M. Bender (Constable Pisani), and his innocence. Andrew Weems (The Inspector in the Sports Coat) in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Photo: Gerry Goodstein, ©2011. Maria Feletti —an aggressive reporter who is the fi rst of many to learn of the corrupti on as exposed by the Maniac. -3- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide About the Playwright
Dario Fo was born on March 24, 1926, in Lombardy, Italy. In In 1968, Fo his early life, he moved to Milan to study art and architecture. and Rame Towards the end of WWII, Fo was conscripted into the army of disbanded the Salo Republic. He managed to escape enlisti ng by hiding in their company an atti c, and, aft er the war, he returned to his studies. in order to form In 1950, Fo enthralled listeners with a series of “poer nano” Associazione (“poor litt le thing”) monologues of his own creati on—usually Nuova comic re-interpretati ons of Biblical or otherwise classical stories. Scena, an While working with the Nava-Parenti company in Milan, Fo met independent his future wife and partner, Franca Rame—a life-long performer theatre who had been born to a family of travelling actors and collecti ve that puppeteers. Fo and Rame were married in 1954 and became used portable each other’s greatest collaborators. stages to entertain the working class in non-traditi onal theatre spaces, In the late 1950s, Fo and Rame established the Fo-Rame such as community halls, sports venues, and public plazas. Company. Based in Milan, Fo wrote and performed in many farces for the company, while Rame performed and acted as In 1969, Dario Fo staged “Mistero Buff o,” which became an primary administrator. In 1962, Fo-Rame wrote for a nati onal TV enormous success that ran for more than 5,000 performances. series (“Canzonissima”), and sparked tremendous controversy Fo and Rame eventually left Nuova Scena due to politi cal through their att enti on to the working class and his sati rizati on diff erences with the company, and began the Colletti vo Teatrale of corrupt or ineff ectual authoriti es. The couple received death La Comune. It was during this period that Fo wrote Accidental threats and massive cuts to their scripts from the censors at the Death of An Anarchist. He was inspired by the frenzy following Italian Nati onal Television (RAI). Fo and Rame quit the show in a terrorist att ack on the Banca Nazionale dell’Agricoltura in protest of the censorship. And while the Italian Actors Union Milan, in which a man—labeled by the Italian media as “an (SAI) showed them support, Fo and Rame were sti ll sued. anarchist”—died aft er falling or being thrown out of a police precinct window. Throughout the mid-1960s, Fo and Rame wrote and performed many plays that were highly criti cal of corrupti on in the Italian Throughout the 1970s, Fo-Rame was met with resistance, government and scruti nized the dogmati c aspects of Italian censorship, and violence for their politi cal messages. Despite society. These plays incited violence from Fascist groups, this oppositi on, the couple conti nued to write, stage, and resulti ng in threats and an att empted assault on Fo and Rame. perform plays well into the 1990s. In 1997, Dario Fo was The Italian Communist Party provided Fo and Rame with guards. awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 2006, Fo took an While Rame was a member of the Italian Communist Party, Fo acti ve role in the politi cal systems he so frequently criti cized by was extremely criti cal of the organizati on. Eventually Rame running for mayor of Milan, the most economically important gave back her party member card and broke from the Italian city of Italy. He fi nished second with over 20% of the votes. Communist Party completely. As of 2010, both Fo and Rame were independent members of the Communist Refoundati on Party (PRC – Parti to della Rifondazione Comunista), and Fo remains an acti ve parti cipant and campaigner on various politi cal, social and cultural issues. -4- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide
In His Own Words: An excerpt from Dario Fo’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
…I mustn’t forget those of the small town on Lago Maggiore “The great splinter of rock was about to sink into the lake. where I was born and raised, a town with a rich oral traditi on. ‘Watch out, you’ve got water up to your ankles’, shouted the They were the old storytellers, the master glass blowers who people along the shore. ‘Nonsense, that’s just drainage water taught me and other children the craft smanship, the art, of from the fountains, it’s just a bit humid,’ said the people of the spinning fantasti c yarns. We would listen to them, bursti ng with town, and so, slowly but surely, the whole town was swallowed laughter—laughter that would sti ck in our throats as the tragic by the lake… allusion that surmounted each sarcasm would dawn on us. To this day I keep fresh in my mind the story of the Rock of Caldé. “Even today”, conti nued the old glass blower, “if you look down into the water from that outcrop that sti ll juts out from the lake, “Many years ago”, began the old glass blower, “way up on and if in that same moment a thunderstorm breaks out, and the the crest of that steep cliff that rises from the lake there was lightning illuminates the bott om of the lake, you can sti ll see - a town called Caldé. As it happened, this town was sitti ng on incredible as it may seem! - the submerged town, with its streets a loose splinter of rock that slowly, day by day, was sliding sti ll intact and even the inhabitants themselves, walking around down towards the precipice. It was a splendid litt le town, with and glibly repeati ng to themselves: ‘Nothing has happened’. The a campanile, a forti fi ed tower at the very peak and a cluster of fi sh swim back and forth before their eyes, even into their ears. houses, one aft er the other. It’s a town that once was and that But they just brush them off : ‘Nothing to worry about. It’s just now is gone. It disappeared in the 15th Century. some kind of fi sh that’s learned to swim in the air’…
“‘Hey’, shouted the peasants and fi shermen down in the valley Disturbing though it may be, there’s no denying that a tale below. ‘You’re sliding, you’ll fall down from there’. like this sti ll has something to tell us. I repeat, I owe much to these master glass blowers of mine, and they - I assure you - “But the cliff dwellers wouldn’t listen to them, they even laughed are immensely grateful to you, members of this Academy, for and made fun of them: ‘You think you’re prett y smart, trying to rewarding one of their disciples… scare us into running away from our houses and our land so you can grab them instead. But we’re not that stupid.’ Above all others, this evening you’re due the loud and solemn thanks of an extraordinary master of the stage, litt le-known not “So they conti nued to prune their vines, sow their fi elds, marry and make love. They went to mass. They felt the rock slide under their houses but they didn’t think much about it. ‘Just the rock sett ling. “Laughter does not please Quite normal’, they said, reassuring each other. the mighty.” -Dario Fo, 1997
Ed Emery (Translator) studied Greek and Lati n at including Manuel Vázquez Montalbán’s An Olympic Death, Cambridge University, where he also served as the president of Mehdi Charef’s Tea in the Harem, and Antonio Negri’s Empire the University’s Student Union. Very politi cally acti ve, Emery and Beyond. He has also contributed to the circulati on of the staged numerous protests on various issues, ranging from his work of the Greek scholar Elias Petropoulos, whose work was oppositi on to the University’s exam system to his support of considered too controversial to be acknowledged in Greek Irish and Chilean politi cal prisoners. academia.
Emery’s work as a politi cal acti vist and a translator has fi gured Currently, Emery is translati ng the rest of Dario Fo’s plays into signifi cantly in the current circulati on of Italian New Left ideas English. When translati ng Accidental Death of an Anarchist, in England. A series called Red Lett ers is comprised of Emery’s Emery chose to stay as close to the original text as possible by translati ons of Italian reformulati ons of Marxist theory. Emery keeping all of the original cultural, popular and wholly Italian has translated several works of Italian literature into English, references in the play. -5- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide
only to you and to people in France, Norway, Finland . . . but also These encounters have strengthened us in our convicti on that to the people of Italy. Yet he was, unti l Shakespeare, doubtless our job is - in keeping with the exhortati on of the great Italian the greatest playwright of renaissance Europe. I’m referring to poet Savinio - “to tell our own story”. Our task as intellectuals, Ruzzante Beolco, my greatest master along with Molière: both as persons who mount the pulpit or the stage, and who, most actors-playwrights, both mocked by the leading men of lett ers importantly, address young people, our task is not just to of their ti mes. Above all, they were despised for bringing onto teach them method, like how to use the arms, how to control the stage the everyday life, joys and desperati on of the common breathing, how to use the stomach, the voice, the falsett o, the people; the hypocrisy and the arrogance of the high and mighty; contracampo. It’s not enough to teach a technique or a style: and the incessant injusti ce. And their major, unforgivable we have to show them what is happening around us. They have fault was this: in telling these things, they made people laugh. to be able to tell their own story. A theatre, a literature, an Laughter does not please the mighty… arti sti c expression that does not speak for its own ti me has no relevance. A few days ago, a young actor of great talent said to me: “Maestro, you should try to project your energy, your Recently I took part in a large conference with lots of people enthusiasm, to young people. You have to give them this charge where I tried to explain, especially to the younger parti cipants, of yours. You have to share your professional knowledge and the ins and outs of a parti cular Italian court case. The original experience with them”. Franca - that’s my wife - and I looked case resulted in seven separate proceedings, at the end of at each other and said: “He’s right”. But when we teach others which three Italian left -wing politi cians were sentenced to 21 our art, and share this charge of fantasy, what end will it serve? years of imprisonment each, accused of having murdered a Where will it lead? In the past couple of months, Franca and I police commissioner. I’ve studied the documents of the case - as have visited a number of university campuses to hold workshops I did when I prepared Accidental Death of an Anarchist - and and seminars before young audiences. It has been surprising— at the conference I recounted the facts pertaining to it, which not to say disturbing—to discover their ignorance about the are really quite absurd, even farcical. But at a certain point ti mes we live in… But this absent-mindedness on the part of the I realized I was speaking to deaf ears, for the simple reason young has been conferred upon them by those who are charged that my audience was ignorant not only of the case itself, but to educate and inform them: among the absent-minded and of what had happened fi ve years earlier, ten years earlier: the uninformed, school teachers and other educators deserve fi rst violence, the terrorism. They knew nothing about the massacres menti on… that occurred in Italy, the trains that blew up, the bombs in the piazze, or the farcical court cases that have dragged on since then. The terribly diffi cult thing is that in order to talk about what is happening today, I have to start with what happened thirty years ago and then work my way forward. It’s not enough to speak about the present. And pay att enti on, this isn’t just about Italy: the same thing happens everywhere, all over Europe. I’ve tried in Spain and encountered the same diffi culty; I’ve tried in France, in Germany, I’ve yet to try in Sweden, but I will.
Dario Fo receiving his Nobel Prize from the hands of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at the Stockholm Concert Hall, 10 December 1997. Copyright © Pica Pressfoto AB 1997, S-105 17 Stockholm, Sweden, telephone: +46-8-13 52 40 Photo: Anders Wiklund -6- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide Fo’s Call to Action
Accidental Death of an Anarchist is based on true events advocated an ideology that he believed would bring peace to surrounding political corruption in Italy from the 1960s through his country. A central figure in the Milanese anarchist circle, the 1980s. Though the underlying story of the play may seem Pinelli coordinated youth organizations, ran the library for the too absurd to be true, it is, in fact, closely based on the official Anarcho-Syndichalist Union, and created a support network for documents and investigative journalism about a case involving the anarchists who had been falsely accused of bombings across the death of a man named Giuseppe Pinelli. Pinelli was accused Milan. of a deadly bombing and arrested. Muddled records and official revisions of events obscured the fact that Pinelli was thrown On December 12, 1969, 15 people were killed and 58 wounded from the window of the police station, and moreover, that his when a bomb went off at a bank in Milan. The incident became arrest was a cover-up for the fact that the government itself was known as the Piazza Fontana Bombing. Guiseppi Pinelli was responsible for the bombing. among several people arrested on suspicion of plotting the attack. On the night of his arrest, he was found dead outside As the working class of Italy became more active about their of the window of the police station. The official documents discontent with the political and economic climate in the regarding his death called it a suicide, another an “accidental 1960s, the government began to fear that its authority would death.” But forensic evidence showed that Pinelli’s fall was be undermined. With change happening all across Europe and anything but a suicide. The remaining suspects were acquitted America, the Italian government feared that the country was on in 1985, with authorities unable to find them guilty. the brink of a Socialist revolution. Their solution was to sanction terrorist attacks by an extreme right-wing group that was Fo was not the only person to take action against this disguised as part of a communist insurgency. Their hope was to corruption. A newspaper run by the far-left published political create a climate of tension that would cause citizens to create a cartoons accusing the senior interrogating officer of Pinelli’s right-wing coup in favor of the government. This tactic became death. The paper was accused of libel and was tried in 1970, known as the “Strategy of Tension.” From 1969 to 1984, the the same year that Fo opened Accidental Death of an Anarchist. government carried out 4,298 acts of terrorism. Police suspicion Dario Fo and Franca Rame continued to be attacked for fell on neofacists and anarchists, among them, Guiseppi Pinelli. speaking out against injustice. Though the “Strategy of Tension” ended in 1984, Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist remains Guiseppi Pinelli was a 41 year old railway worker with a wife a shockingly relevant play, warning against corruption and and two daughters. Pinelli had become interested in anarchism injustice in all societies. in his teens, serving as a courier for an anarchist group in Milan. He and his wife met at Esperanto classes. Both believed that a universal language would be the gateway to peace all across Europe. Pinelli did not advocate violence. Instead, he
Further Reading
Caesar, Michael, and Peter Hainsworth. Writers and Society in Hirst, David. Dario Fo and Franca Rame. New York: St. Martin’s, 1989. Contemporary Italy: a Collection of Essays. Leamington Spa: Berg Publ., Print. 1984. Print. McManus, Donald. No Kidding!: Clown as Protagonist in Twentieth- “Commedia Dell’Arte.” Humanracetheatre.org. Web.
Domenico, Maceri. “Dario Fo: Jester of the Working Class,” World Literature Today: A Literary Quarterly of the University of Oklahoma 72.1 (1998): 9-14. -7- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide Commedia Dell’Arte
Dario Fo’s style of comedy was heavily infl uenced by Commedia Dell’Arte, a form of improvisati onal comic theatre developed in Italy, which fl ourished between 1545 and 1760. Commedia troupes consisted of a company of traveling actors who were skilled in improvisati on and physical comedy. The troupe would perform various scenarios, while wearing exaggerated masks that represented the various “stock characters” which they played. These included vecci (the old men), zanni (the zany servants), and innamorati (the lovers). In these scenarios, the Renderings of some of the stock Commedia characters: Il Dottore (the old men oft en tried to keep the lovers apart, while the zany Doctor), Pierrot (a servant), Harelquin or Arlecchino (the witty servant) servants devised schemes to allow the lovers to be together. and Pantalone (the miserly old man).
Echoes of Il vecci, which consisted of a miserly lecher entertainment today. In Accidental Death of an Anarchist, the (Pantalone), a know-it-all professor (Il Dott ore), and a bragging Maniac uses variati ons on several classic lazzi. He takes on the but cowardly captain (Il Capitano), can be seen in the Constable, voices and identi ti es of many characters to rile up the inspector the Superintendent, and the inspectors of Accidental Death of as they speak on the phone. While in one of his various an Anarchist. disguises he incorporates fake limbs and even a false eye to great comic eff ect. In additi on to uti lizing stock characters, Commedia performances incorporated numerous stock comic routi nes, or Commedia was a highly popular and infl uenti al form of theater. lazzi. These bits could be woven into virtually any scenario, and Though the troupes began in Italy, they traveled throughout became a trademark of the Commedia style. Some examples of Europe, and infl uenced such playwrights as Ben Jonson, William lazzi include familiar routi nes such as a servant carrying a long Shakespeare, and Jean Bapti ste Molière. Commedia troupes ladder into a room and striking everyone and everything with initi ally had very litt le money and performed on a small make- it while remaining wholly unaware of the crisis, or a character shift stage in public areas. As their popularity grew however, taking on numerous voices to confuse a blind-folded character, wealthy patrons would someti mes provide them with a theatre or a doctor using exaggeratedly large medical instruments while in which to perform. In France, Kings Louis XIV and Louis XV examining a pati ent. Many of these lazzi sti ll appear in comic greatly enjoyed the Commedia performances, despite the fact that the troupes were banned from France for several years aft er a troupe of actors mocked Louis XIV’s mistress.
Though Commedia Dell’Arte troupes dwindled in the 1760s, the comedic style and stock characters of Commedia conti nue to be infl uenti al. Commedia stock characters were notably assumed by silent fi lm actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Even today, echoes of these stock characters can be seen in fi lm, television and even cartoons. Several theatre companies exist today to bring this Italian art form to modern audiences. Dario Fo used Commedia in a profound way; simultaneously sati rizing and cherishing his culture through elements of this essenti ally Italian art form.
Maria Feletti (Kristie Dale Sanders) and the Maniac (Kevin Isola) share a laugh at the expense of Inspector Bertozzo (Philip Goodwin) in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Photo: Gerry Goodstein, ©2011. -8- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide Commentary and Criti cism
“Fo insists on the importance of the comic- grotesque element in theatre, both as part of the patrimony of genuine popular culture and as a basic tool for raising politi cal consciousness. Like Brecht, he was always fascinated by popular theatre, incorporati ng all its comic-dramati c tricks into his plays: double-takes, mistaken identi ti es, scurrilous language and behavior, mimicry, characters hiding behind curtains and pieces of furniture, blips and buff eti ng on the head and kicks in the rear—the enti re panoply of belly- laugh technique.
“[In Fo’s plays] There are no “characters” in the psychological sense, only types or Kevin Isola as the Maniac in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. personifi cati ons—the mad man, policeman, politi cian, Photo: Gerry Goodstein, ©2011. union bureaucrat, worker, the bourgeoisie, and so forth…Any character functi ons basically as a personifi cati on of a certain politi cal problem, and as such can change roles the moment his or her functi on changes on stage to arti culate an issue diff erent from one that was treated a few minutes before.” -Suzanne Cowan, “The Throw-Away Theatre of Dario Fo,” 1975
“Fo has always been the most sensiti ve barometer of the politi cal climate in his country; a shrewd criti c perfectly att uned to the issues of the day... There is not a gag in the long fi nal scene which is not there to underline a serious point. The rhythm of the scene is calculated to control the audience response as they are jerked by comic dislocati on into a fuller awareness of serious issues.” -David L. Hirst, Dario Fo and Franca Rame, 1989
“Whatever his antagonism toward intellectuals and litt erateurs, there is no doubt that Fo too is an intellectual—though one who, perhaps, has come to refl ect more clearly than many the painful changes Italy has experienced…Whether as the frivolous sati rist of social behavior, or the ardent politi cal provocateur, he is an eye-witness to the cultural, social and politi cal vicissitudes of his country...The success of Morte Accidentale (Accidental Death...) rests, I believe, on its ability to put across a revoluti onary message while sti ll being irresisti ble as theatre.” -Lino Perti le, “Dario Fo,” 1989
“Fo has never strayed too far from clown’s comic functi on, even when putti ng the laughter associated with clown to a specifi c politi cal end. He believes that clown is the stage character closest to the proletariat public he wants to reach… He has used clown to approach modernist tragedy…Even in his broadest farces and most popular successes, such as Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Fo conti nually reminds the audience of the tragic circumstances upon which the play is based…Pinelli’s mangled body is never meant to be forgott en even through farcical episodes.” -Donald McManus, No Kidding!: Clown as Protagonist in Twenti eth Century Theater, 2003
-9- AboutThe Shakespeare The Theatre of Shakespeare New Jersey TheatreACCIDENTAL of New DEATH OF ANJersey ANARCHIST: Know-the-Show Guide
The acclaimed Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of the leading Shakespeare theatres in the nati on. Serving more than 100,000 adults and young people annually, it is New Jersey’s only professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare’s canon and other classic masterworks. With its disti nguished producti ons and educati on programs, the company strives to illuminate the universal and lasti ng relevance of the classics for contemporary audiences. The longest-running Shakespeare theatre on the East Coast and the seventh largest in the nati on, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey marks its 49th season in 2011.
The company’s 2011 Main Stage season features six producti ons presented in its 308-seat F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre and runs June through December. In the summer, an Outdoor Stage producti on is also presented at the Greek Theatre, an open-air amphitheatre nestled in a hillside on the campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth in nearby Morristown.
In additi on to being a celebrated producer of classic plays and operati ng Shakespeare LIVE! (one of the largest educati onal Shakespeare touring programs in the New York/New Jersey region), The Shakespeare Theatre is also deeply committ ed to nurturing new talent for the American stage. By providing an outstanding training ground for students of the theatre, and culti vati ng audiences for the future by providing extensive outreach opportuniti es for students across New Jersey and beyond, The Shakespeare Theatre is a leader in arts educati on. For additi onal informati on, visit our website at www.ShakespeareNJ.org.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of 20 professional theatres in the state of New Jersey. The company’s dedicati on to the classics and commitment to excellence sets criti cal standards for the fi eld. Nati onwide, the Theatre has emerged as one of the most exciti ng “new” theatres under the leadership of Arti sti c Director, Bonnie J. Monte since 1990. It is one of only a handful of Shakespeare Theatres on the east coast, and in recent years has drawn larger and larger audiences and unprecedented criti cal acclaim. The opening of the inti mate, 308-seat F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in 1998, provided the Theatre with a state-of-the-art venue with excellent sightlines, and increased access for patrons and arti sts with disabiliti es.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is a member of ArtPride, The Shakespeare Theatre Associati on, Theatre Communicati ons Group, and is a founding member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional major support is received from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and Drew University, as well as contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals. The Shakespeare Theatre is an independent, professional theatre company located on the Drew University campus.