Part 1 Summary
Palindrome Theatre did their production of The Accidental Death of an Anarchist in the Up Collective art gallery. They added improvisation, satire, social criticism and lazzi you can absurdism. Here’s a theatre tip if you need one: anytime the characters enter wearing red clown noses, that’s absurdism. The Accidental Death of an Anarchist offered us that and the entire list in abundance, all bundled into a play of intense physical comedy. Wikipedia said Fo was influenced by the old Commedia dell’ Arte. The play was like nothing more than a Commedia street scenario with fart jokes, mistaken identities and bawdiness, all updated to the modern world. Palindrome performed it with expert comedic timing.
Part 2 Response
What is it about jokes that work every time, simple and good? Answer: they involve human suffering and pain. And the pain in this play is an undercurrent that gradually rises like the sweat on the actors, washing down the stairs and into the police-ridden streets. The theme of police abuse in service to class warfare needed little updating from 1960s Europe to 21st century Austin, Texas. That is saddening and I think also it is why director Nigel O’Hearn’s updating of the text was so seamless. The play is based on terroristic events and police corruption. The work is fictional, but it updates itself in every new production with references to contemporary events. The play premiered in Italy in 1970, found immediate popularity, and
