Accidental Death of An Anarchist

Accidental Death of An Anarchist

By Dario Fo and Franca Rame.  Adapted for the stage by Tom Basden

Directed by Pauline Armour

An amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books

Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s riotous satire has been widely performed around the world since its groundbreaking premiere in 1970. Fo is one of the most frequently performed playwrights in the world.  In 1997 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.  In the official citation it was stated that he had ‘emulated the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden’.  Tom Basden’s bang up-to-date English adaptation would undoubtedly have met with Signor Fo’s whole hearted approval….wildly inventive ……gloriously chaotic.

An irrepressible fraudster known only as the Maniac is brought into Police Headquarters just as the officers are preparing for a judicial review of the recent ‘accidental’ death of a suspect in custody.  Outwitting his captors, the Maniac dupes them into performing a farcical recreation of the incident, exposing the absurd corruption and terrifying idiocy at the heart of the system.

‘Wickedly funny… nothing less than brilliant… the audience is constantly in stitches… much cheaper than a therapy session and vastly more entertaining’  Time Out

‘Pretty special… Basden’s script is packed with contemporary references, but among the comic zingers are weightier concerns about undercover police work and corruption…. It’s brilliantly executed… unforgettable’  The Stage

‘Uproarious… a bomb-blast comedy… an institutionally funny play’  Evening Standard

Cast

Creatives