Biography of Dario Fo

Born in San Giano (Varese) in 1926, Dario Fo attended the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and enrolled at the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic, although without finishing his degree.
In 1952 he met Franco Parenti, who introduced him to RAI, where he wrote and acted in the satirical programme Poer nano. In 1953, again with Parenti and Giustino Durano, he wrote Il dito nell'occhio, followed a year later by Sani da legare.
For the cinema he co-wrote the screenplay and acted in Carlo Lizzani's film Lo svitato (1955). In 1957, he staged Ladri, manichini e donne nude for Franca Rame, and the following year, Comica finale.
In 1959, along with Rame and others, he established a fixed company. Works from this period include Gli arcangeli non giocano a flipper (1959), Aveva due pistole con gli occhi bianchi e neri (1960), Chi ruba un piede è fortunato in amore (1961), Isabella, tre caravelle e un cacciaballe (1963), Settimo ruba un po' meno (1964), La colpa è sempre del diavolo (1965), and La signora è da buttare (1967).
In 1963 he took part in Canzonissima, he and Franca Rame creating a series of sketches denouncing the misdeeds of the political system. Gagged by the censors, they preferred to quit rather than have to silence their ideas, thus beginning a period of exclusion from state-owned television that was to last more than twenty years.
The first Ci ragiono e canto collection on Italian popular music dates from 1966, followed in 1968 by the creation of an independent theatre group which would tour Italy on alternative circuits to those of the official theatre. The productions staged were Grande pantomima con bandiere e pupazzi piccoli e medi (1968), L'operaio conosce 300 parole, il padrone 1000, per questo lui è il padrone (1969), Legami pure, tanto io spacco tutto lo stesso (1969), and above all the world-famous Mistero Buffo (1969), a monologue based on 'grammelot', a language derived from the mixture of modern phonemes and dead dialects from Italy's Po valley area.
Memorable productions from the following years include Accidental Death of An Anarchist (1970), Pum pum, chi è? La Polizia (1972), Guerra di popolo in Cile (1973), which prompted his arrest in Sassari while on tour. Later, the occupied Palazzina Liberty provided the backdrop to other works including We Can't Pay, Won't Pay! (1974), Il Fanfani rapito (1975) and La marijuana della mamma è sempre la più bella (1976).
During this period, he also began to work a great deal abroad, and in 1979 was invited to La Scala in Milan to conduct L'histoire du soldat (1979) by Stravinsky.
Over the following years, other memorable works include Dio li fa e poi li accoppa (1984), Mamma! I Sanculotti! (1993) and Il diavolo con le zinne (1997). In 1997 he won the Nobel prize for literature.

F.T.

Biography of Dario Fo

Born in San Giano (Varese) in 1926, Dario Fo attended the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and enrolled at the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic, although without finishing his degree.
In 1952 he met Franco Parenti, who introduced him to RAI, where he wrote and acted in the satirical programme Poer nano. In 1953, again with Parenti and Giustino Durano, he wrote Il dito nell'occhio, followed a year later by Sani da legare.
For the cinema he co-wrote the screenplay and acted in Carlo Lizzani's film Lo svitato (1955). In 1957, he staged Ladri, manichini e donne nude for Franca Rame, and the following year, Comica finale.
In 1959, along with Rame and others, he established a fixed company. Works from this period include Gli arcangeli non giocano a flipper (1959), Aveva due pistole con gli occhi bianchi e neri (1960), Chi ruba un piede è fortunato in amore (1961), Isabella, tre caravelle e un cacciaballe (1963), Settimo ruba un po' meno (1964), La colpa è sempre del diavolo (1965), and La signora è da buttare (1967).
In 1963 he took part in Canzonissima, he and Franca Rame creating a series of sketches denouncing the misdeeds of the political system. Gagged by the censors, they preferred to quit rather than have to silence their ideas, thus beginning a period of exclusion from state-owned television that was to last more than twenty years.
The first Ci ragiono e canto collection on Italian popular music dates from 1966, followed in 1968 by the creation of an independent theatre group which would tour Italy on alternative circuits to those of the official theatre. The productions staged were Grande pantomima con bandiere e pupazzi piccoli e medi (1968), L'operaio conosce 300 parole, il padrone 1000, per questo lui è il padrone (1969), Legami pure, tanto io spacco tutto lo stesso (1969), and above all the world-famous Mistero Buffo (1969), a monologue based on 'grammelot', a language derived from the mixture of modern phonemes and dead dialects from Italy's Po valley area.
Memorable productions from the following years include Accidental Death of An Anarchist (1970), Pum pum, chi è? La Polizia (1972), Guerra di popolo in Cile (1973), which prompted his arrest in Sassari while on tour. Later, the occupied Palazzina Liberty provided the backdrop to other works including We Can't Pay, Won't Pay! (1974), Il Fanfani rapito (1975) and La marijuana della mamma è sempre la più bella (1976).
During this period, he also began to work a great deal abroad, and in 1979 was invited to La Scala in Milan to conduct L'histoire du soldat (1979) by Stravinsky.
Over the following years, other memorable works include Dio li fa e poi li accoppa (1984), Mamma! I Sanculotti! (1993) and Il diavolo con le zinne (1997). In 1997 he won the Nobel prize for literature.

F.T.