With a ‘fall’, farce and an all-female cast, Masquerade Malta is bringing Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist to the stage and holding up a mirror to the world. Director Ian Moore talks about staging the bizarre tale and taking risks with his leading ladies.
The best storytellers – the ones whose names are never forgotten – are those who show the truth about the world. Some choose drama to do this, others use comedy.
Director Ian Moore, together with the Masquerade team, has chosen “an entertaining, off-the-wall, Monty Python-meets-The Goons-meets-The Sweeney kind of style”, to highlight the truth in his production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist.
First premiered in the 1970s, Dario Fo’s play tells the story of a railway worker who is falsely accused of terrorism and arrested. The man would later ‘fall’ out of the fourth-floor window of the police station. It is a bizarre story but it is based on a real-life event.
The play “is possibly the best example of modern-day classic farce (with a political slant) that has ever been written,” Moore explains.
“There are several key points within the text that need to be made absolutely clear. The railwayman died, he was innocent, the police did it and then covered it up. All of these are true.”
We are staying true to the intent of the original [play]
The farce comes into play thanks to the protagonist – a certified lunatic who enjoys impersonating different characters. As a result, he exposes the corruption in an institution where there should be transparency.
“The ‘investigation’ by the central character takes us through these points several times,” Moore continues “in a different and more distorted manner each time”.
The play is a huge challenge to stage, Moore admits, but “the six performers have brought their ‘A game’ to the fore.”
They are all female and include lead actress Pia Zammit, together with fellow actresses Antonella Axisa, Louiselle Vassallo, Maria Caruana, Gabriella Mendes and Samantha Gauci.
The decision to have an all-female cast playing men was “a brave choice,” Moore states, “but I firmly believe it offers a new perspective to a well-worn journey.
There are a number of politically-edged satirical farces that all highlight the world from a male perspective, as does Anarchist.
“However, in bringing the piece to the stage with an all-female cast, we open up this farce and take it another level as we see this amazing all-female team offer their interpretation of men struggling to cover-up their ineptitude.”
Fo’s original play features men taking on the male roles to bring to life the tragic, real-life event that happened on December 1969.
“Masquerade’s Anarchist twists that perspective even further by adding another layer, the woman’s perspective of a man managing the situation,” Mr Moore says.
But this does not mean the goal of the play is being altered.
“We are staying true to the intent of the original,” Moore continues, “which very much holds up a mirror to the world; not just the current political climate but worldwide.”
The team is also staying true to the element of comedy found in the original play.
Fo “was an advocate of Commedia del Arte,” Moore explains, “so we are exploring that style but rooting it within reality. Thus the comedy is in the timing.”
The team will have to wait till opening night to see how this play will be received. However, Moore expects “strong feedback” from Anarchist. The cast has so far enjoyed building this “complicated jigsaw puzzle” towards completion and looking forward to opening night.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist will be staged at Blue Box - M Space, Oscar Zammit Street, Msida, today, tomorrow and on Sunday and on November 15, 16 and 17 at 8pm. Tickets, as well as more information, is available at www.masquerademalta.com.
