The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded annually on December 10 by the Swedish Academy, Stockholm. Since 1901 there have been six winners of Italian descent. In 1997 Dario Fo was the last Italian to receive this prestigious prize. Dario Fo is one of the most famous Italian playwrights. He is also a stage and costume designer and even composes music for his plays.

Birth and early childhood

Dario Fo was born in San Giano a small town in the province of Varese on March 26 1926. His father Felice was a socialist, stationmaster and an actor in an amateur theatre company. His mother Pina Rota was a woman with a great imagination and talent. She wrote an autobiographical account of her hometown in the 70’s and Finaudi published it. He has a brother called Fulvio and a sister called Bianca. Young Dario spent his childhood vacations at his maternal grandfather’s farm. His grandfather used to travel around the countryside selling his produce from a large horse drawn carriage. His grandfather would tell amazing stories weaving in local news and anecdotes to attract customers. Sitting beside his grandfather on the big wagon Dario thus began to learn the rudiments of narrative rhythm.

Since his father’s postings were changed at the whim of the railway authorities Dario traveled a lot. As he grew older he imbibed more and more of the narrative tradition. He spent hours in the local taverns and piazzas (local squares) listening to artistes, craftsmen glass blowers and fishermen expound tall narratives steeped in political satire.

Education and post war years

In 1940 Dario moved to Milan to study at the Brera Art Academy. He also attended courses in architecture at the Polytechnic. However his studies were interrupted as he was conscripted to the army of the Salo republic. He managed to escape spending the last few months of the war hidden in an attic storeroom. His parents were also active in the resistance movement. At the end of the war Dario resumed his studies at the Brera Art Academy and also completed the courses he had taken in architecture at the Polytechnic. During his architecture studies, while working as an assistant architect and decorator, Dario used to entertain his friends and colleagues with tall tales similar to the ones he had heard in the taverns.

Move to Milan

The Fo family moved to Milan a few years after the war. Here Dario Fo became involved in the small theatres (piccoli teatri) movement. He began by presenting improvised monologues. In 1950 he began to work for Franco Parenti’s theatre company. He gradually abandoned his work as an assistant architect as he got more and more involved with the theatre. In 1951 he is offered the opportunity to perform a radio play “Cocorico” on RAI- Italian National Radio.

Meeting Franca Rame

In 1951 he met Franca Rame a woman who perhaps has been the greatest influence in his life as his wife and partner. She was the daughter of Domenico Rame and came from a strong theatrical background. They were married on June 24, 1954. Their son Jacopo was born on March 31. 1955. In 1955 Dario worked as a screenwriter for various movie scripts and plays in Rome. In 1959 they form the Dario Fo-Franco Rame theatre company.

Fo- Rame Theatre Company

In 1959 Dario Fo and Franco Rame form a theatre company using their combined names. Fo wrote the scripts. He also acted, directed, designed costumes and stage paraphernalia. Franco Rame looked after all the administrative matters as well as performed on stage. The company had their debut at the Piccolo Teatro after which they left for their first annual tour all over Italy.

In 1960 they gained national recognition with the play “Archangels Don’t Play Pinball”. Other successes followed rapidly and in 1961 they became popular in Sweden and Poland by performing “Ladri, manichini e donne nude”.

In 1962 Fo wrote and directed a game show called “Canzonissima” for RAI. It was very popular initially but angered the mafia and politicians and they were effectively banned from RAI for fifteen years. In 1962 their play on Christopher Columbus “ Isabella, tre caravelle e un cacciaballe” annoyed the right wing groups.

In 1967 Fo wrote “la Signora e da buttare” which annoyed the US government and it denied him a visa to enter for many years.

In 1968 Fo and Rame founded the Associazione Nuova Scena with movable stages and they toured all around Italy. In Milan they converted an abandoned factory into a theatre and formed another new company called Il Capannone di Via Colletta which had links with the Communist Party. But Fo criticized their policies and they also began to dislike him and Rame resigned from the party. He also withdrew his plays from the Eastern Block as a protest against the Warsaw Pact and Soviet censorship of his plays.

In 1969 for the first time Fo presented Mistero Buffo (Comic Mystery) a play of monologues based on a mix of topical issues and medieval plays. It became very popular and became the foundation of the movement which the Italians call teatro di narrazione. It is a kind of theatre where there are no characters playing a dramatic role. It is a kind of theatre similar to popular storytelling.

The 1970’s

In 1970 Fo and Rame left Nuova Scena due to political differences. They began a third theatre group called Collectivo Teatrale La Comune. Between 1969- 1970 he wrote “The Accidental Death of an Anarchist” and “Fedayin” in 1971 on the Palestine cause both of which were very popular with the people and yet fetched them a host of new enemies. He wrote “Guerra di Popola in Cile” after the murder of Salvador Allende. He often wrote plays on topical and current issues of the time including “Non si paga, non si paga” (Can’t Pay Wont Pay) in 1974 and “Fanfani rapito” in 1975. In 1976 he did a new program Il Teatro di Dario (Dario’s Theatre) for RAI. In 1977 he presented the second version of Mistero Buffo, which was criticized by the Vatican. In 1978 he made the third version of Mistero Buffo. He also rewrote and directed L’histoire du Soldat”(Story of a Soldier) based on Igor Stravinsky’s opera. He also adapted and directed operas from Rossini. In this period he also wrote about the murder of Aldo Moro “La tragedia di Aldo Moro” but this play has not been performed in public so far. It is in the late 70’s that Fo became Italy’s most translated author. His works are published in more than fifty countries in more than thirty languages.

The 1980’s

In 1980 the Fo Family built a cultural and agricultural retreat and study center called the Libera Universita di Alcatraz in the hills near Gubbio and Perugia. They bought small areas in the valley through the years. It is a meeting place for various artists and cultural groups. This huge retreat is now under the control of Jacopo Fo.

In 1981 they performed in America for the first time in Cambridge’s American Repertory Theatre as part of the Italian Theatre Festival in New York. Though they were initially denied a visa the protests by many famous American writers and personalities finally resulted in them getting their visa. In 1985 they performed for various other Repertory Theatres throughout the United States of America.

In 1983 Fo wrote a play called “Coppia Apperta” which created some controversy. In 1989 he wrote “Lettera dalla Cina” to protest against the atrocities of Tiananmen Square. In this year he also became the first Italian to stage a play in the Comedie Francais.

Awards

The 1980’s were a period of immense recognition for Dario Fo. In 1981 he received the Sonning Award from the University of Copenhagen. In 1985 he was honoured with a Premio Eduordo Award. In 1986 he was given the Obie award in New York. In 1987 he received the Agro Dolce Award. In 1997 he finally received the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1990’s

Although Dario Fo was nominated the first time in 1975 by a group of Swedish intellectuals he received the Nobel Prize more than two decades later in 1997. The jury believed that he deserved as it as he was one who emulated the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upheld the dignity of the downtrodden.

On July 17, 1995 he got a stroke and lost most of his eyesight. With a lot of rest and recuperation he resumes his tasks in 1996. He writes a new play “Bibbia Dei Villani” for the festival of Benevento. He continues touring all over Italy.

The twenty first century

Dario Fo is as active as before. In 2006 he stood for the post of Mayor of Milan. He came second in the primary election. Although he was very popular many citizens felt that his age was a disadvantage and that was the main reason he did not get enough votes. His wife Franca Rame is a candidate for the Italian General Elections to be held in April 2006.

Dario Fo is a popular and acclaimed yet controversial playwright, actor and director of international acclaim. He had led the field of political satires and farces in Europe for over thirty years. Although he has dealt mainly with problems faced by Italians his universality in topics of current interest have led to the translation of his works in thirty languages. When they are performed outside Italy they are often modified to reflect local issues both political and non-political ones. Fo ‘s main strength lies in his creation of works that amuse, engage and provide perspectives on many current issues. He acts as a bridge between popular culture and radical intellectuals. Thus his theatre occupies a central role in contemporary Italian culture and also reaches out to the wider world.

Despite many attempts to stifle him and his wife he has left a deep impact on society as a whole with his immense body of works which are his enduring legacy. Dario Fo has rightly been considered the rightful heir of Aristophanes.