“Accidental Death of an Anarchist” by Dario Fo, translated by Ed Emery

Undergraduate student Mirit Skeen directs this senior thesis show, a performance of Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo, translated by Ed Emery. Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance: Directing.

Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist is a 1970 political satire that concerns the accidental (or not) death of a supposed anarchist rail worker who fell (or was pushed) to his death from a fourth-story window of the police headquarters in Milan. It is based on the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing and the real-life defenestration of a man during police interrogation. The play itself is a fictionalized version of the aftermath, following the officers responsible as they attempt to rewrite the truth of the event, all while being egged on by a Maniac with a penchant for disguises and making clowns out of cops.