Accidental Death of an Anarchist explores ideas of government and police corruption while adding a humorous component through its exaggerated characters. The performance, directed by Tyler Dean, MCAS ’25, showed for four days beginning on Feb. 20 in Robsham Theater’s Bonn Studio Theater.
In the dimly lit opening scene, the Maniac, played by Liam Fahey, CSOM ’28, sits at one of the three desks on stage, listening to the radio. Inspector Bertozzo, played by Peyton Zaletsky, MCAS ’27, appears and interrogates the Maniac. Bertozzo calls the Maniac out for his crimes and for impersonating various people and professions. The Maniac boasts that since he is legally insane, Bertozzo does not have a case against him.
Fahey uses physical movements to convey the Maniac’s insanity, rapidly pacing back and forth on stage and writing on the walls with pink chalk. He even starts making animal noises to distract Bertozzo from detaining him. Bertozzo, however, doesn’t buy his tactics and believes the Maniac is just as sane as everyone else.
The play, written by Dario Fo, is based on the true story of the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing and the case of Giuseppe Pinelli, an Italian anarchist, who was murdered by the police while being interrogated for a crime he did not commit.
The Maniac hopes to expose the policemen responsible for the “accidental” death of the anarchist, who they claimed fell out the window to his death during his interrogation. He does this by impersonating a judge to get information out of the Constable, played by Andres Medina, MCAS ’28; Sports Jacket, played by Joe Gilhooly, LSEHD ’27; and the Superintendent, played by Elyza Tuan, MCAS ’27.
The holes in these characters’ stories don’t seem to line up with each other, making the Maniac even more suspicious about the incident and the government cover-up.
While tackling serious corruption issues, the play also incorporates humor as Fahey’s character performs exaggerated impersonations to hide his true identity. He even uses this tactic on the Journalist, played by Caroline Casieri, MCAS ’28, later in the play, when he pretends to be the forensic expert.
The audience is encouraged to participate while the Maniac plays the guitar, and the characters begin singing “Bella Ciao,” a protest song that originated in Italy. Breaking the fourth wall allows the play to have a more personal feeling among the audience by immersing themselves in the story.
The message of Accidental Death of An Anarchist is one that rings true today. Police brutality and unfair interrogations are still too common. Fo’s play is a criticism of the police and justice systems that, although designed to protect people, can have the opposite effect based on the people yielding the power.
Although the play was inspired by the case of Pinelli, there are many victims of police and state-ordained violence that this play serves to represent. The play points out that the current-day United States is guilty of such injustices and must do better to end such injury.
Despite the humor infused by exaggerated characters, the purpose of Accidental Death of An Anarchist is to expose the government for its wrongdoings and promote discourse surrounding the injustices and unfairness in the justice system.
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