Blake, B; (2015) Dario Fo: teatro di attivazione e comunicazione, 1950-1973. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

Abstract

The thesis considers influences and originality in dramatic structures in Fo’s theatre from its beginning - Poer nano, Cocoricò, Chicchirichì - through his first political review, Il dito nell’occhio (1953), to the maturity of his political theatre in 1967-73. It focuses on structures of activation and communication with the audience which appear first in Il dito, clearly visible in later works, but more closely in La signora è da buttare (1967) and Grande pantomima con bandiere e pupazzi piccoli e medi (1968). Drawing on Iser’s, Foley’s, Eco’s and Bauman’s theories for the formation of meaning, the study of Il dito shows how the spectator is made active through ‘citations’, words and images, which rely on his knowledge of political and social facts to be deciphered. Derision of the outcast, previously used by Porta, with its distancing effect similar but not equal to Brecht’s alienation, also works from within forming the spectator’s response. Allusions set in parody and metaphor, derision and open satire are steeped in paradox, which is used not only for comedy but also to heighten tragedy. The themes of Il dito - war, power, slavery, manipulation of minds - and the structures remain remarkably stable in subsequent works. The choice of metaphor as the main dramatic structure to draw cognitive connections with the audience comes to its full in La signora where is applied to gestures and action, to sounds, music, costumes and to Fo’s own three-dimensional body mask, to create theatrically a metaphorical meaning more explicit than words. In 1969 he adds empathy by (almost) performing a tragedy on stage, forcing the spectators to act. Guerra di popolo in Cile (1973) makes the audience engage not only mentally with, but also physically in the play.

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