Theatre Essay

ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL AND ABSURDIST THEATRE


‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ is based on the death of an anarchist, who was held in custody after the bombing of a bank in Milan. The play ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ fits under the genre of political theatre and takes influences from absurdist theatre in its comedy. It is influenced by the political situation of Italy in the 1960s, including the terrorism of the fascists and political playwrights throughout history, including Grotowski and Brecht, as well as the movement of ‘The Theatre of the Absurd.’ In this essay the genre of political theatre will be examined, taking quotations from ‘Accidental Death’ to analyse the leftist movement. Firstly the origin of political plays and theatre will be analysed, then political and absurdist theatre will be analysed, and finally the overall purpose of the political absurdist movement will be examined. Readings from Freedman, Marvin, and Gilbert, as well the book, ‘The Theatre of the Absurd’ and online sources will be used to support this essay’s argument.

Theatre is exegetical, because it takes influence from the postmodern discourse of the presence of comedic and ideological actors (Freedman, 1991). Theatre is inherently practical, because the development of a play needs to be thought through in terms of logistical concerns, thus it is applicable to civilization (Freedman, 1991). The actors in political plays present an original story and act as a signifier for the culture that they are performing for (Freedman, 1991). Through the use of 20th century philosophy, such as deconstruction, which is present in political plays, the imperfect is put in the place over mastery in theatre, in that we have knowledge that playwriting evolves over time and influences us and itself, thereby reflecting the flawed nature of the totality of society (Freedman, 1991).

‘Accidental Death’s’ meaning is influenced by socialisation, the movements which came before it, and the interpretation the audience (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 19). Theatre has its genesis in pre-modern society, where it was performed in taverns, open spaces, markets, churches, and in private houses (Marvin, 1999). Theatre is a dualist way of representing the world, with this duality existing between the audience and the actors (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 45). In particular, the historical movement of Commedia dell’arte performance in Italy gave birth to latter forms of theatre, such as Avant-Garde theatre, which was spontaneous, focusing on tangible aspects of theatre and influenced Fo’s plays (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 19). As well, the theatre of Agit Prop was an early form of political theatre, which affected Fo’s leftist and libertarian theatre, as well as the political plays by Brecht, Grotowski, and Artaud (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 22). The actors, in particular Andreini and Canali in the sixteenth century also provided inspiration for latter actors/directors, who include Dario Fo. Moreover, the play was linked to a particular political and social context and was influenced by the role of Fo as an actor (Fitzpatrick, 1993, p. 3). Many qualities of Fo’s theatre, which came from these earlier forms include, the portrayal of unconventional characters, incongruous contrasts, humour, satire, and open-ended plot. Moreover, the theatre of Fo is absurdist, political, and grounded in the avant-garde, which is its genesis.

The death of the anarchist in ‘Accidental Death’ was portrayed by the police as a suicide, however, most of the Italian population believed that the authorities caused the death (Gale, 2006). There are many contradictions in the story told by the police in ‘Accidental Death’, such as whether the anarchist jumped from the second or fourth floor, which displays the contradiction and unreliable nature of positions of authority (Fo, 1970). The play positions authorities as corrupt and the government as being part of this corruption. An example of the fool critiquing political corruption is the following line: Fool: ‘My clinical report . . . prescription list . . . hey, here's my criminal citation! Oh well, let's tear it up. Out of sight, out of mind. Hm, wonder who this citation is for (reads) “Armed robbery"’ (Fo, 1970, p. 12). This line shows the rebellion of the Italian left towards authority and displays the revolutionary nature of the left in the 1960s in Italy (Gale, 2006). The ideology of political theatre was the relationship between realist and tangential fantasies, which were embedded in the Italian theater of the 1960s. In particular the theatre of Fo presents itself in a different historical context from the political theater, which came before it (Baz, 1992). By the fool infiltrating police headquarters, the play satires the infiltration of anarchist groups by police in the 1960s (Gale, 2006). Later on the play was recognised by the elite in the 1970s and therefore Fo’s political ideals infiltrated the higher level of society by this time.

The fact that theatre is a oral medium makes it ideal for propaganda from leftist groups and anarchists, which is demonstrated in ‘Accidental Death.’ The political analysis of theatre is grounded in language, bureaucracy, and culture (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 32). The silence of the politically oppressed can have a political effect by constructing its humanist nature, which includes the silence of anarchists in ‘Accidental Death’ (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 30). The message from subjugated leftist groups to the authorities is demonstrated by the absurdity of the following line by the fool: ‘[trained in law] In mental hospitals! You have no idea how well one can study in there! There was a paranoid court reporter who coached me’ (Fo, 1970, p. 7). This line shows that anyone can have an opinion of political matters, even laymen, thereby this line empowers the left. An example of the growing political power of the left in Italian society is that the inspector starts to take the fool more seriously in the following part of the play, where the Fool claims that the inspector had used the wrong punctuation, which positioned him as imitating a professor, in the following title (Fo, 1970, p. 5): ‘Former Professor from the University?’
    SUSPECT. Didn't you see the comma after “The Former"?
    INSPECTOR. Oh yes, there is a comma. You're right, I hadn't noticed.
The anarchist subculture in the 1960s used theatre as a means of spreading their ambitious libertarianism and inverted the law of the fascist culture, by parodying it in a satire.

Revolutionaries posit that to cause real changes there must be a dismantling of the whole society rather than reform (Gale, 2006). A quote by the Maniac highlights this libertarian approach: ‘Let the scandal come, because on the basis of that scandal a more durable power of the state will be founded!' (Gale, 2006). Fo in the play used actual inquest and police documents to lend credibility and realism to his play (Gale, 2006). In particular the play responded to actual events in Italy, including the working class struggle in 1969, which was caused by low pay and long hours for workers, and led to the demonstration of October 15th, the plantation of bombs in Italy by totalitarian groups, and the drive of the fascists to create a right-wing state (Behan, 2000, p. 64) (Gale, 2006). These conditions led to the striking of many workers and the flourishing of the left (Gale, 2006). During the period in which Fo was writing, Italian society was in a state of unrest, with the right-wing government doubting their ability to stay in charge (Gale, 2006). The Maniac character is used to undermine the trickery of this right-wing government and to appeal to the audience that the unrest was caused not by workers, but by fascists.

‘Accidental Death’ has its power through the use of contradiction, irony, and lush use of language. For example (Fo, 1970, p. 10):
SUSPECT: What floor are we on? Fourth? Well, it's almost standard practice: I'll jump! I'll jump and when I'm lying down there dying, splattered all over the pavement and giving the death-rattle. . . .. . I'll look up and say - it was him, the inspector!
Through the individuation and idealism of theatre such as ‘Accidental Death’, it constructs a important political stance. Esslin (1969, p. 4) posited that the playwrights of this kind of political theatre were outsiders and introverts and were influenced by the poetic avant-garde, therefore they used poetic speech and devaluated language (Esslin, 1969, p. 7). The fictional character of the Maniac (also called the Fool) posited the government went too far in demonizing the left through its violent actions. Overall, the theatre of Fo is entertaining and used unconventionally morality to make its point clear, which makes it such a key work of 20th century playwriting (Brecht, 1948). 

‘Absurd is that which if devoid of purpose...cut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots’ (Esslin, 1969, p. 5). The theatre of Fo is absurdist, political, and grounded in the avant-garde, which is its genesis (use example). This genesis has a link to ‘The Theatre of the Absurd,’ which was a term coined by Martin Esslin in the 1950s and 1960s and had its origin in 1940s France and referred to outsider and comedic plays (Culík, 2000). Absurdist’s’ often used intuition and foresight in their writing, using rationality in order to respond to the world in a unique way (Esslin, 1969, p. 6).  ‘The Theatre of the Absurd’ was a reaction to the religious component of the fascist period. The meaning of plays, which fit into this category are confusing and bewildering, because they make use of comedy, lack of plot, and paradoxically, development of characters personalities (Esslin, 1969, p. 3). An example of this comedy and absurdity is that at one point the inspector takes out a Chinese abacus to make a calculation, which is a throwback to ancient political strife (Fo, 1970, p. 2). Moreover, an example of the bewildering nature of ‘Accidental Death’ is the following quotation of the suspect, which displays the fool’s flippant nature: ‘See, I can't stop myself from playing roles - and as you can tell I've already developed a rather rich repertory’ (Fo, 1970). Overall, the position of absurdist plays is that the universe is nihilistic, as depicted by the former quote, therefore the anarchistic nature of reality is performed with contradictive logic and ends in silence (Culík, 2000).

There is a lot of contradiction used in ‘Accidental Death’, which is used to satire the authorities in Italy. There is often a contrast of emotion in absurdist plays, with acting being at odds with the setting or societal image (Culík, 2000). Plays like ‘Accidental Death’ seek to restore to us mythology and ceremony, bringing our emotions back to the primeval period on Earth (Conway-Herron, 2011, p. 18). Fo’s, ‘Accidental Death’, was influenced by the absurd in its use of surprise and absurdist comedy, with the Fool making fun of the Italian society’s right-wing nature. An example of this flippant and absurd comedy is the following quote: ‘You didn't hurt your hand? Then how come you're massaging it? Just like that, to make an interesting impression? Some sort of nervous tic?’ (Fo, 1970, p. 17). Fo’s play assaulted the contradictory language of plays from earlier periods and positioned the language of bureaucracy as insane (Culík, 2000). Although Fo’s play was very rational in its assault on rightist bureaucracy, it brings us to an oneness with primeval and emotional states and presents the elite and police as illogical and inherently superficial.

‘Accidental Death’ empowers the left through the use of language in a particular context and the inversion of discursive formations. In ‘Accidental Death’ Fo makes reference to historical information, but actually makes up the sources, which is a contradiction evident in political theatre. In particular the language of right-wing parties did not negotiate truth and proceeded from the power lexus in society, thereby marginalizing the left (Gilbert, Gilbert & Joanne, 1996) (Scuderi, 2003). Language are systems which can oppress people, but also change over time through the influence of the working class, which is what Fo has aimed to do with ‘Accidental Death’ (Gilbert, Gilbert & Joanne, 1996). Fo’s play gave language back to the workers and thereby gave them dignity and individualism (Gilbert, Gilbert & Joanne, 1996) (Scuderi, 2003). An example of this is when the Fool claims that the authorities couldn’t prove that the anarchist committed suicide. For example, with the raptus meaning a severely suicidal state (Fo, 1970, p. 39):
FOOL: All right. The suicide took place at midnight and the fairytale session at eight. So where do we stand with the raptus? After all, barring contrary evidence, your entire version of the suicide is based on that raptus.
His play is good balance between high and low pleasure, with ‘Accidental Death’ making use of strange speech as humour, but also deep political satire (Brecht, 1948).

‘Accidental Death’ was a popular play in the 20th century, because the play was critical of fascism, thus appealing to the working class of Italy. The play drew influences from movements and playwrights who came before it including, ‘The Theatre of the Absurd’ in its comedy and use of contradiction and Grotowski and Brecht. The political stance of the play is that reform would not cause lasting change in society and political revolution was paramount. As well, the play acted as a signifier for political corruption and was a reflection of the society of Italy in the 1960s. Overall, ‘Accidental Death’ is a key example of political playwriting in the 20th century, because it was influenced by its social role and constructed the left as a humane movement, thus seeking to empower the Italian public through political satire.

















REFERENCES


Behan, T. 2000, Dario Fo: Revolutionary Theatre, Pluto Press, Great Britain, London.

Baz, K. (1992), ‘Carnival, Agit Prop, Celebratory Protest’, The Politics of Performance: Radical Theatre as Cultural Intervention, London and New York: Routledge.

Brecht, B. (1948), ‘A Short Organum for the Theatre’, Cole, Toby (ed) (1961), Playwrights on Playwriting: The Meaning and Making of Modern Drama from Ibsen to Ionesco, New York: Hill and Wang, pp. 72–105.

Conway-Herron, J. 2011, Study Guide: Writing for Performance, Lismore, Southern Cross University.

Culík, J. 2000, University of Glasgow (online), The Theatre of the Absurd, http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/Slavonic/Absurd.htm [Accessed 31 July 2011].

Esslin, M. 1969, The Theatre of the Absurd, The Overlook Press, Woodstock, New York.

Fitzpatrick, T, Sawczac, K. 1993, Accidental Death of a Translator, University of Sydney, Sydney.

Freedman, Barbara. (1991), ‘A Fractured Gaze: Theatre, Cinema, Psychoanalysis’, Staging the Gaze, New York: Cornell Press, pp. 47–77.

Gale, T. (2006), Novel Guide (online), Accidental Death of an Anarchist, http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dfs_0000_0023_0/dfs_0000_0023_0_00012.html [Accessed 9 Aug 2011].

Gilbert, H, Gilbert, T, Tompkins, J. (1996), ‘The Languages of Resistance’, Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice and Politics, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 164–202.

Username: litteacher8. 2010, Enotes.com (online), Accidental Death of an Anarchist, http://www.enotes.com/accidental-death-an-anarchist [Accessed 5 Aug 2011].

Marvin, C. (1999), ‘Performance in its Historical Context’, Performance: A Critical Introduction, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 79–99, 208–210.

Scuderi, A. 2003, Unmasking the Holy Jester Dario Fo, Theatre Journal, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 275-290.