Synopses & Reviews
The works of Fo number among the world's most performed plays. Tony Mitchell chronicles Fo's early theatrical and political development from the revue sketches and broad faces of the early 1950s to his more commercial hits of the 1960s. He explores Fo's collaborations with his wife, the actress Franca Rame, and their great international successes of key work of the 1970s and 1980s (including Mistero Buffo, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Can't Pay? Won't Pay!,Female Parts, Trumpets and Raspberries, The Open Couple, Elizabeth, and The Pope and the Witch). People's Court Jester now includes the more recent political and theatrical work of the Fos in the 1990s, leading up to the awarding of the Nobel prize.
This is a study of the myriad theatrical styles and genres which Fo employs in his stage work: his embodiment of the guillare or jester tradition; his borrowings from the commedia dell'arte; his use of techniques from circus, burlesque, satire, and Bertolt Brecht's Epic Theatre; his views on history, popular music, and storytelling. Mitchell also provides insight on translating Fo into English and includes an extensive chronology, bibliography, and production history of major events in Fo's long and colorful career.
Dario Fo: People's Court Jester—here revised for the third time—remains the first and only full-length study in English of the work of Dario Fo, the controversial Italian playwright, actor, director, songwriter, and political activist who received the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Synopsis
This is the first full-length critical study of the colorful Italian playwright, performer and political activist Dario Fo, winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature. Mitchell looks at Fo's political influences and also the influence on his work of various theatrical motifs. The stage work of Fo and his wife/collaborator Franca Rame is charted from the 1960s up to the present to give readers a clear insight into his unique literary and theatrical strengths. The plays of Dario Fo are internationally recognized as being among the best modern Italian dramas.
Synopsis
The first and only full-length critical study of Dario Fo, the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature Winner
This book, now extensively rewritten and updated, remains the only full-length critical study to cover various phases of Dario Fo's theatrical career. It looks at Fo's political influences and also the influence on his work of various theatrical motifs, including the great clown traditions which stretch back to the middle ages. The political work of Dario Fo and his wife/collaborator Franca Rame is charted from the 1960s up to the present to give the reader clear insight into this playwright/performer's unique literary and theatrical strengths. Each of Fo's plays and productions is discussed at length and the author has included an extensive and updated bibliography which includes full production details, quotes and writings about Fo.
Always a popular performer in his native Italy, Fo has been one of the world's most performed dramatists. In the author's words: he is the "people's court jester".
About the Author
One of the major theatrical artists of the 20th century, Italy's Dario Fo, togther with Franca Rame, his wife and creative partner, have been creating a theatrical foray uniquely their own for more than fifty years. One of the world's most produced playwrights, Fo was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature.