Dario Fo
Introduction
Dario Fo, an Italian actor-author, can claim to be one of the most frequently performed playwrights in the world. Born on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy on 24 March 1926, he made his debut in theatre in 1952 and was writing, performing and painting until fifteen days before his death on 13 October 2016. His work went through various phases, always in company with his wife, the actress Franca Rame. His stage career began with political cabaret, moved on to one-act farces, and then satirical comedies in his so-called 'bourgeois phase' in the early 1960s, when he became a celebrated figure on TV and in Italy's major theatres. In 1968 he broke with conventional theatre to set up a cooperative dedicated to producing politically committed work in what were then known as 'alternative venues'. His best known plays, including Mistero Buffo (1969), Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970) and Trumpets and Raspberries (1980) date from this period. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997 and, in the official citation, the Swedish Royal Academy stated that he had 'emulated the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden.'
SLT Productions
- Accidental Death Of An Anarchist (1984) (Bell Theatre)
- Trumpets And Raspberries (1990) (Bell Theatre)
- Elizabeth - Almost by Chance a Woman (2006) (Bell Theatre)
- Accidental Death of an Anarchist (2009) (Prompt Corner)
