Anarchist- Context, OPCs Flashcards
What year was Anarchist originally performed?
The first performance took place in Milan 1970, just a few hours after a demonstration to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Piazza Fontana bombing.
Who wrote and starred in the original production?
Dario Fo
What inspired Dario Fo to create this play?
Fo was inspired by the 1969 events in the Piazza Fontana and the court ruling concerning the ‘accidental’ death of alleged bomber Giuseppe Pinelli.
What was the ‘third act’ that Fo included in the original performances?
A debate between the actors and the audience on the issues raised, with the intention of empowering the audience to think critically and hopefully take action.
What were the two main political parties in Italy at the time?
The Christian Democrats and the Italian Communists
What was happening socio-politically in Italy in1960s and 1970s?
Italy’s working class was fed up with dangerous working conditions, long hours, low pay, expensive and uninhabitable housing, poor benefit packages.
What happened on December 12 1969?
173 bomb attacks occurred in Italy in a year during this time. The anarchist who died at Milan police headquarters and whose death is the subject of Fo’s play, had been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a Hot Autumn bombing at the National Agricultural Bank in Piazza Fontana in Milan on December 12, 1969.
What is meant by ‘Hot Autumn’?
The autumn of 1969 in Italy is known as the “Hot Autumn” of working class and student protests.
What was Dario Fo’s aim with this play?
To satirise real events in order to critique modern industrial capitalism and state bureaucracy.
What is Comedia del Arte?
Improvised comedy rooting from 16th-18th century Italian theatre, based on stock characters.
