ADA Written Work.

Question.

As a performer playing the role of the Bertozzo, discuss how would achieve your preferred effects for the audience in TWO separate sections of the play.  [25 marks]

Intro.

'Accidental Death of an Anarchist' is a political farce play by the Italian playwright Dario Fo. It is heavily influenced by the scandalised death of Gisueppe Penelli (an anarchist railway worker) who fell to his death from a police office window under questioning about the infamous Piazza Fontana bombings  in Milan, earlier that year (1969). Fo also drew inspiration from the ancient Italian theatre style: Comedia del' Arte, inspired by the use of exaggerated physical theatre to villainise and mock those in power.

Primarily, Fo wrote and directed the play to make his audiences question the highly suspicious circumstances surrounding Penelli's death and expose them to the wider background of corruption and abuse of power in politically-polarised post-ww2 Italy. 

This was especially relevant at the time because the play was first performed in 1970, whilst the well-publicised trial of the officers involved in Penelli's death filled newspapers across Italy.

The play follows a character called the Maniac (who is later revealed to be an undercover journalist) who arrives at a police station to cause chaos. In the process, he uncovers a deep-rooted vein of secrecy, corruption and abuse of power running through the police force and wider government.

With clear themes of police brutality, police stupidity, greed, secrecy and corruption, Fo's political message of questioning those in power remains highly relevant today against the backdrop of publicised mishandling of cases such as George Floyd and Sarah Everard's murders.

I play Bertozzo, a brutal, aggressive, enraged police inspector who comes out second best in his encounter with the Maniac. Bertozzo covers his unpleasant character at the start of the play with a sycophantic monologue delivered to the audience. He is oily, smarmy, deceitful and utterly unlikeable. Throughout the play, as the Maniac's antics drive him to further hysteria, he quickly shows his true colours as a violent power-hungry tyrant who is nonetheless a tiny cog in the machine of government. Fo's point is clear: the police are brutal, violent and lazy with veins of corruption running through all levels.

The first moment I will play bertozzo as brutal and violent is when he delivers the line "I'm an arsehole am I?!" to the maniac. Before I say this line I will jump to my feet, slam my hands on the desk and in one big sweeping motion, throw the files and papers to the ground. Then I will lean very slowly across the desk to where the maniac sits and deliver the line in a low, guttural growl, keeping my teeth clenched and my eyebrows furrowed with a furious, resentful expression on my face. This wild outburst of violence followed by an aggressive accusation clearly shows the audience the brutality and violence of Bertozzo and by extension, the rest of the police force as Bertozzo is just a small piece in the wider atmosphere of aggression. 

I will further the idea of police brutality when I deliver the line "Shut up." Before this line, I will pace downstage left to right, repeatedly running my hands through my hair and adjusting my tie and shirt in order to show the audience Bertozzo's frustration at the maniac's taunting. As the maniac continues to quibble about being a qualified secretary whilst lounging totally unconcerned in Bertozzo's chair behind the desk, I will walk behind the chair and raise my hand above my head, with a tightly clenched fist and bent elbow, as if I was about the strike the maniac. On my line "Shut up", I would whisper it in a would-be-calm voice and smile down at the maniac who doesn't notice the raised fist as he looks out to the audience. This creates dramatic irony for the audience as they can see that Bertozzo is furious and wants to attack the maniac but the maniac (who only hears my forced-calm speech) doesn't. This successfully conveys to the audience how the brutality of the police is often not recognised and the sleazy, sycophantic mask that police officers like Bertozzo wear allows them to remain protected. 

After the whispered "Shut up", the manic launches into more prattle about shorthand typing at which point I would whirl around and strike the constable (who stands centre stage right) in the face with a cartoonish, over-exaggerated swing that causes my entire body to pivot such that I complete a full turn. This silly, parody of an actual punch conveys another one of Fo's political points: the childish stupidity of the police. Fo drew this idea from Comedia del Arte because he was extremely interested in the idea of using exaggerated physical theatre to mock those in power. I will further this concept by playing Bertozzo as a Magnifico character. One element of Magnifico I particularly want to convey is his arrogant dismissal of those he deems less important than himself (which is almost everybody). I will show this to the audience immediately after I hit the constable on the line "GET THE CUFFS ON HIM." As the actor playing the constable whimpers and clutches his face on the ground I will grab him by the crown of his hair, raise his teary face from the ground and scream the line in a loud, frantic out-of-control voice. When the constable doesn't immediately respond I will pull him to his feet by his hair and shove him towards the maniac.

OUT OF TIME.