Accidental Death Of An Anarchist

By (author) Fo Dario; Introduction by Hood, Stuart; Translated by Hanna Gillian
Short description/annotation
A reissue of Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo''s play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist - a sharp satire on police corruption. The play concerns the case of an anarchist railway worker who, in 1969, ''fell'' to his death from a police headquarters'' window.
Description
In its first two years of production in Italy, Dario Fo''s notorious 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 of twentieth-century drama. A sharp and hilarious satire on police corruption, it concerns the case of an anarchist railway worker who, in 1969, ''fell'' to his death from a police headquarters window. ''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 narrowminded left-wingers and so I shall, no doubt, be the unwilling butt of endless anti-authoritarian jibes.'' (Inspector Bertozzo, Central Italian Police HQ) ''A marvellous concept: a zany political farce.'' (Michael Billington) This edition has been adapted by Gavin Richards from Gillian Hanna''s translation and features an introduction by Stuart Hood and a preface by Dario Fo.
Biographical note
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."
Promotional headline
A reissue of Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo''s play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist - a sharp satire on police corruption. The play concerns the case of an anarchist railway worker who, in 1969, ''fell'' to his death from a police headquarters'' window.
Description for collection
Methuen Drama’s Modern Classics series showcases landmark plays from around the world. Drawing on the Modern Plays series, which launched in 1959, Modern Classics celebrates plays from the contemporary repertoire by world-leading dramatists and presents their work in a definitive edition, alongside new introductions by leading scholars and industry professionals. With writers such as Pulitzer Prize-winners Jackie Sibblies Drury, Ayad Akhtar and David Mamet through to Lucy Prebble, Katori Hall and Caryl Churchill, Modern Classics are ideal for students and anyone wanting to deepen their knowledge of the plays that form part of the modern dramatic canon.