Description
'The quality that makes Fo uniquely powerful ...[is] the ability to wring wild laughter out of insidious corruption' Guardian 'Simon Nye's witty translation updates and relocates the play ...suitably close to contemporary England. Fo is that rare thing, a far-left playwright with a popular, comic touch. And his stinging attack upon the black arts of government cover-up, manipulation and mendacity could not be more timely' Evening Standard 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 is widely recognised as a classic of modern drama. 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. Commentary and notes by Joseph Farrell.
Highly contentious and subversive at the time of its first production in Milan in 1970, this has since become one of Fo's best known and translated text. Based on a true story it throws in to relief the judicial and police corruption of 1970s Italy. Simon Nyes's superb translation brings out the parallels with our situation today.
About the Author
A popular and controversial playwright, actor and director, Dario Fo has earned international acclaim for his political satires and farces, and has led the field in political satire in Europe for over thirty years. His best known plays include Accidental Death of an Anarchist, We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, and Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997 for "emulating the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden." Joseph Farrell is Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Strathclyde. He has written on and translated Italian theatre widely. He is theatre reviewer for The Scotsman, as well as the author of Dario Fo and France Rame: Harlequins of the Revolution (Methuen, 2001), and has edited A History of Italian Theatre (CUP, 2006) as well as Methuen Student editions of Six Characters in Search of an Author and Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
Book Information
ISBN 9780413772671
Author Simon Nye
Format Paperback
Page Count 176
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 206g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 11mm
Highly contentious and subversive at the time of its first production in Milan in 1970, this has since become one of Fo's best known and translated text. Based on a true story it throws in to relief the judicial and police corruption of 1970s Italy. Simon Nyes's superb translation brings out the parallels with our situation today.
About the Author
A popular and controversial playwright, actor and director, Dario Fo has earned international acclaim for his political satires and farces, and has led the field in political satire in Europe for over thirty years. His best known plays include Accidental Death of an Anarchist, We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!, and Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997 for "emulating the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden." Joseph Farrell is Senior Lecturer in Italian Studies at the University of Strathclyde. He has written on and translated Italian theatre widely. He is theatre reviewer for The Scotsman, as well as the author of Dario Fo and France Rame: Harlequins of the Revolution (Methuen, 2001), and has edited A History of Italian Theatre (CUP, 2006) as well as Methuen Student editions of Six Characters in Search of an Author and Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
Book Information
ISBN 9780413772671
Author Simon Nye
Format Paperback
Page Count 176
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 206g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 11mm
