Accidental Death of an Anarchist

It was lovely to sit in your new refurbished theatre, congratulations on your improvements. This was a new play to me and this is the first time I had seen it.

We were greeted with an open stage set as a police office with appropriate furnishings, including a working clock, which was clearly lit. There was one scene change which was achieved slickly by an office cleaning team lead by a Freddie Mercury tribute act.  The programme presents us with a great deal of information about the playwright, the play and the political situation with an insight into the performance we were about to see. As the play develops you realise that the political situation being portrayed is as applicable in Britain 2019 as in Italy in 1969.

The police uniforms were accurate, Leather Jacket’s costume looked like a modern day uncover cop and Maria Feletti outfit was appropriate for the part. The Maniac’s changes were suitable for her changing characters. I liked the use of part collars for the ‘Forensic Expert’ and ‘Bishop’.

Dorothy was blessed with a cast of talented actors, all of which in their own ways produced quick, high octane performances. They bounced off each other literately and the chemistry between them in the different scenes was obvious. As stated in the programme in line with today’s change in policy we have more leading ladies in this production than expected.
 

The play opens with a frozen group of characters, The Prologue sets the scene for us in a clear matter of fact manner.  The actors on the set come to life we are presented with Inspector Bertozzo who initially appears to be in charge of an interrogation of ‘The Maniac’ but becomes totally stressed as she is out smarted by her at every turn. She eventually begins to take control of the situation in the second half, after being physically restrained by Leather Jacket and Superintendent, when she gets her hand on the gun. Well cast.

Police Constable says very little, but his facial expressions said a lot. He attempts to protect the inspector by moving around the office but gets man-handled and intimidated by ‘The Maniac’. Great guitar playing in the band, well done.

We then encounter Leather Jacket a tough character who doesn’t mind making use of her fists. She is sure she is in control of the situation and doesn’t suffer fools gladly but, then she meets ‘The Maniac’ who twists and turns all her words and confuses her and puts words into her mouth. Strong characterisation.

The Superintendent arrives, the man in charge the night the anarchist ‘fell’ out of the window. He is loud, controlling and knows his own mind but ‘The Maniac’ soon changes all that. By clever questioning she gets the Superintendent to doubt his own words and comply with her ideas. A believable portrayal of the part.

Constable Pisani a policeman who is trying to support both Leather Jacket and the Superintendent but without meaning drops them both into trouble when ‘The Maniac’ confuses him. He played the part convincingly but we lost some of his words, slow down a little.

In Act 2 we meet Maria Feletti a journalist. She played the part with conviction but her vocal projection was a little less powerful than some others. Maria initially comes to interview the Superintendent about the interrogation of Pinelli. She cleverly manipulates the conversation and with the assistance of a one handed, one legged, one eyed ‘Forensic Expert’ changes the initial story and comes to a different conclusion.
 

The stand out performance of the night ‘The Maniac’.  Her portrayal was wonderful! She was hardly off the stage and how she remembered all those words I have no idea! She inhabited the character with flawless aplomb, she characterised all the different guises of the character moving smoothly between and in and out of them, coping well with all the addition props she was required to use. Her interaction and manipulation of all the members of the cast was admirable. She moved with confidence around the stage. Outstanding!!

This production was high speed pure farce from beginning to end with many laugh out loud moments. I enjoyed the offbeat playing of the instruments, the sequences with Thomas the Tank Engine and the use of a hand puppet to portray the anarchist. You had to concentrate on the text or you lost some of the meaning of the story with all its twists and turns. The music chosen for the audience to listen to during the break was carefully selected.

Lastly, I would like to mention the physical comedy sequence between Bertozzo, Leather Jacket and the Superintendent which were impressive. They looked like the balls on a bagatelle machine bouncing off each other. This must have taken many hours and I suspect many bruises to perfect. Congratulations to all three.

Thank you, Dorothy and members of the whole company, for a thought provoking and entertaining evening.

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