Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Synopsis

A man is taken to the fourth floor of a police station, accused of planting a terrorist bomb. A few hours later he is found dead on the pavement outside. The policemen involved have difficulty remembering the exact details of the event...

Our Review:

27 February 2003

Dario Fo wrote the satirical farce Morte accidentale di un arnicho in 1970 following a scandal in his native Italy. In December 1969, a bomb exploded in Milan killing 16 people. Police arrested several suspected left-wing agitators, one of whom mysteriously fell to his death while in custody. Despite a public outcry and damning evidence of foul play, subsequent investigations concluded that Guiseppi Pinelli's demise was either "accidental" or suicide.

In Fo's play, the 'absent hero' is never named and does not appear. Set at the police station in question after his death, it falls to a delusional maniac to champion the cause of truth and expose the force's own crime - at best, ineptitude and harassment, at worst, murder.

Because of its grounding in the events of its time, there's a danger of fossilisation with Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Director Robert Delamere tackled that dilemma head on, commissioning this new translation by [Simon ...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (217.34.88.212) - 8 April 2003:

That over-used phrase 'left me weak with laughter' is perhaps an understatement for how I felt at the end of this evening. The cast were all great, but particularly Adrian Scarborough - who is just endlessly funny to watch - and of course Rhys Ifans who gives what surely must be one of the most frantic and energetic comedy performances I've ever witnessed. Terri Paddock's review is perhaps fair in that within all the traditional madcap farce there is a political agenda, and though with the arrival of the journalist (the only slightly lacklustre performance) some attempt is made to clarify this, resetting the context of the bombing into a more contemporary arena would have made this section less work. Crowds of schoolgirls obviously had a great time watching all the physical comedy, and there was some wonderfully subtle stuff from the trio of policemen too, especially the aforementioned AS. Highly recommended, if only to see Rhys Ifans - just thinking of his entrance as 'The Captain' makes me grin stupidly again!...

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