Accidental Death of an Anarchis

This is the second time I have been asked to write a report for this particular company and I thank

them for my warm welcome at the very impressive Watermark Theatre in Ivybridge.

Written by Dario Fo the play is based on a true story of a wrongful arrest and manslaughter by Italian

Police of a rail worker following a bombing at the railway station.

 

Congratulations to Steve Baker who brought the play very up to date and was reflective of the times we are going through at the moment with this political anti-police establishment piece. The use of projection and film footage along with the comic touches of the Keystone Cops, Benny Hill and Pink Panther with some

surprising snippets of songs, music and even some choreography (totally unexpected) were enjoyed by the audience who were even encouraged to sing along.

 

The play was extremely well cast with the diction very clear and delivered well, although in some

places I felt it needed to be a little more fast paced and some of the chase sequences were a little

too long.

 

The lead character of the Maniac deserves a special mention, he kept the energy up from

start to finish. With his face painted white he had the perfect characterisation of a creepy clown

who was very manipulative and drew the audience in from the start. Bertozzo came across as

exasperated and frustrated which was exactly right for the character and The Constable was very

convincingly gormless in his role. Inspector Pissani and The Superintendent were a great double act

playing the corrupted pair to perfection. It was nice to have female interjection amongst all the

males with the role of Felitti who came over really well as a no nonsense journalist.

 

The play is set in the offices of The Italian Police Building which was very clear with the set and costuming also suited to the piece.

 

Well done to all involved in this production.

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