Accidental Death of an Anarchist
On the 12th of December 1969, a bomb exploded in the headquarters of the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and injuring 88. In the same afternoon 3 more bombs exploded and 1, discovered unexploded. The police immediately announced that the terrorist attacks were caused by a group of anarchists and made 80 arrests including that of a local man, Guiseppe Pinelli. There is lots of controversy, to this day, whether or not it was a group of anarchists or simply the corruption of the police force at the time, planting bombs to frame the anarchists at the time...
The Play Itself & Context
Dario Fo was inspired to write this play after the death of Guiseppe Pinelli for many reasons mainly because his father was also a railway worker, so, coupled with Fo's leftist political ideals and the anger at the ideals of the right at the time, made the story rather pertinent to him. It is also well known that Fo was ready to use theatre as a means of political ammunition.
The play follows a character called the Maniac, who pretends to be different authority figures in order to uncover what really happened to the anarchist who supposedly "fell out of a window accidentally." As the play progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that the police officers, particularly Pissani and the Superintendent, pressured the railway worker into suicide by accusing him of crimes they had no real evidence for. They then attempted to cover up his death by constantly changing their story and shifting the blame.
Fo presents the police department as disorganised and incompetent, often making the officers appear foolish. Much of the play's humour comes from the audience laughing at the police officers' stupidity; however, once the laughter fades, the audience is left to reflect on the serious issues being presented. This highlights Fo's message about corruption and misuse of authority. He effectively exposes police incompetence through their ridiculous interactions. Furthermore, abuse of power is also shown through the master–servant relationship between the Constable and Bertozzo.
This period was marked by many accusations, but the authorities struggled to clearly identify who was responsible for the crime. An anarchist was arrested after a taxi driver claimed he had driven a suspicious passenger to the bank on the day of the bombing. However, this suspect was only preventatively detained for three years and was never convicted.
Suspicion later shifted towards the neo-fascist far-right group Ordine Nuovo, as well as related organisations such as Terza Posizione. Two members of Ordine Nuovo were eventually convicted and sentenced to sixteen years in prison. Although more evidence emerged in the 21st century linking additional individuals to the attack, the original convictions could not be reopened.
Further investigations revealed possible corruption within intelligence agencies, including SISMI, which appeared to have withheld important information. General Gianadelio Maletti, head of the SID, was later found guilty of concealing evidence. Reports were destroyed and witnesses were encouraged to leave the country in order to protect Ordine Nuovo. Overall, the evidence suggests that the two convicted members of Ordine Nuovo were responsible for the bombing, as the bombs were linked directly to items they had purchased and hidden.
Context
In the exam, we are assessed on the social, historical and cultural contexts to Accidental Death... and our practitioner (Fo in this case).
Social
- Italy during the late 60s into the early 70s was a period of intense political unrest, strikes, and politically motivated violence.
- "The Fall" and death of Italian railway worker Guiseppe Pinelli caused a ruckus. On the 12th of December 1969, a bomb exploded in the headquarters of the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and injuring 88. In the same afternoon 3 more bombs exploded and 1, discovered unexploded. The police immediately announced that the terrorist attacks were caused by a group of anarchists and made 80 arrests including that of a local man, Guiseppe Pinelli. There is lots of controversy, to this day, whether or not it was a group of anarchists or simply the corruption of the police force at the time, planting bombs to frame the anarchists at the time...
Historical
- Strategy of Tension: A covert, right-wing terrorist campaign supported by elements of the state to discredit the left, culminating in the Piazza Fontana bombing.
- The Hot Autumn of 1969–70 is a term used for a series of large strikes in the factories and industrial centers of Northern Italy, in which workers demanded better pay and better conditions. During 1969 and 1970 there were over 440 hours of strikes in the region. The decrease in flow of labour migration from Southern Italy had resulted in nearly full employment levels in the northern part of the country, meaning that the workforce there now had the leverage to start exercising its influence.
Cultural
- General hostility and unrest was a catalyst for hate in Italy at the time. It was a very serious, harsh culture, hence Fo in his playful nature using comedy and farce in his plays to lighten the cultural tone.
- Farce serves as a form of resistance by using absurdity, exaggeration, and satire to disrupt established power structures, challenge social norms, and mock authoritarian rule. It functions as a "subversive" tool that allows marginalized groups to expose the corruption and folly of authority.
Lots more of the context can be found in the section above these sectioned context sections.
Comedy
There are three types/ theories of comedy and humour, of which Fo uses all three in his play...
Superiority Theory
Relief Theory
Incongruity Theory
Superiority theory in humour suggests that people laugh because they feel superior to others. According to this theory, humour comes from seeing someone else's mistakes, stupidity, or misfortune, which makes the audience feel smarter or more powerful by comparison. In plays like Accidental Death of an Anarchist, the audience laughs at the police officers because they are shown as incompetent and foolish, reinforcing a sense of superiority while also criticising those in authority.
Relief theory in humour suggests that people laugh as a way to release built-up tension or stress. Laughter acts as a kind of emotional outlet, especially when dealing with serious, uncomfortable, or taboo topics. In Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Fo uses comedy to relieve the tension surrounding themes like death, corruption, and abuse of power, allowing the audience to laugh while still engaging with these serious issues.
Incongruity theory in humour suggests that people laugh when there is a mismatch between what they expect and what actually happens. Humour comes from surprise, absurdity, or situations that don't fit normal logic. In Accidental Death of an Anarchist, humour is created through the contrast between how police officers are expected to behave (serious, competent, authoritative) and how they actually behave (chaotic, dishonest, and ridiculous).
Style
Firstly, the Brechtian style (non-naturalistic) is commonly used in political theatre. Bertolt Brecht described it as "theatre for the brain," contrasting it with Konstantin Stanislavski's naturalism, which he associated with theatre "for the heart." Rather than encouraging emotional immersion, Brechtian theatre aims to provoke critical thought and create distance between the audience and the performance, directing attention toward the play's underlying message.
At the beginning of the play, Bertozzo, and more prominently the Maniac, both use direct address to remind the audience that what they are watching is a theatrical performance. By referencing elements such as the playwright and stage managers, the play highlights its own artificiality. Combined with the comedy, this self-awareness produces effective metatheatre, preventing the audience from becoming too emotionally absorbed in the characters. Bertozzo even ironically hints at the brutality of the police force before the action properly begins. The characters themselves are deliberately exaggerated, presenting caricature-like versions of their roles. The use of a narrator, in this case the Maniac, is also a distinctly Brechtian technique.
The play also functions as a farce: a form of comedy built around exaggerated, absurd situations. This is evident very early on, when the Maniac chases the police officers around the room, behaves like a dog, threatens to jump out of the window, and generally creates chaotic, ridiculous scenarios typical of farcical theatre.
As previously mentioned, the play also reflects elements of Commedia dell'Arte, with characters whose personalities and actions resemble its traditional stock figures. This makes them instantly recognisable and deliberately easy to mock or stereotype.