Dario Fo (1926-2013)

 

Born on 24 March 1926 and Died: on 13 October 2016, was an Italian actor, playwright, comedian, singer, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, painter, political campaigner for the Italian left-wing, and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his time he was "arguably the most widely performed contemporary playwright in world theatre". Much of his dramatic work depends on improvisation and comprises the recovery of "illegitimate" forms of theatre, such as those performed by giullari (medieval strolling players) and more famously, the ancient Italian style of commedia dell'arte.

His receipt of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature marked the "international acknowledgment of Fo as a major figure in twentieth-century world theatre".The Swedish Academy praised Fo as a writer "who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden". He owned and operated a theatre company. Fo was an atheist. Throughout the early 21st century until his death in 2016, Fo remained an active participant and campaigner on various political, social and cultural issues. He questioned the official accounts of the September 11 attacks and the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings in the film, Zero: An Investigation into 9/11. In 2008, he was among the signatories of an open letter to Republicans which called on the state to protect Roberto Saviano, whose life was under threat after exposing the clandestine activities of the Camorra in his 2006 book Gomorrah. Ahead of the 2013 Italian general election, Fo explained that the most recent targets of his satire included: “The banks mostly, and the big entrepreneurs. All those who hold the reins of 'the show within a show', Those who through the media, television, and other ways make every effort to ensure that the people accept the conditions they find themselves in. 

There are so many realities present in their plays that are still relevant to the 21st century and also exists corruption, bribery, assassination, miss-use of power and crimes are the forms that are concerned with Dario Fo's plays and these are still present in the 21st century and these are dishonesty or a criminal offense. True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.