‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’
by Dario Fo
Exploring key scenes, characters and comic farce techniques to enhance written responses. Through physical explorations of Fo’s comic, larger-than-life characters, the language and imagery begins to embed. Ideal for:
Introducing the text
Embedding character studies
Focusing on stylistic and comic features
Historical context
Pre-exam revision
“Cheryl is incredibly knowledgeable and skilful. Her session on Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Commedia was fantastic and I would highly recommend the company, for both staff and students.”
“Cheryl did an online class with my students and it was brilliant! … It helped them to understand what they need to know about the key Commedia characters and the context of the play. She even got them on their feet in their bedrooms! They came away with great notes to help them with their study of the text and they were excited to continue working with the play.”
Level:
KS4 to Degree level
Duration:
Online: 1 hour / 2 hours / 5 x 1 hour series In person: 2 - 6 hours
Participants will learn about:
Fo’s stylistic and political intentions and how these influence performance
Grotesque characterisation, taking ideas from Commedia dell’Arte stock types, to create satirical farce
Performing farcical character transformations, using levels of exaggeration
How comedy can be created in key scenes through character partnerships, physicality, language and comic lazzi (physical gags)
Performance skills specific to comedy
How to make the play accessible for a contemporary audience
It is well-documented that Fo was heavily influenced by Commedia dell’Arte, frequently modelling himself in role as Harlequin in his productions. This play is not a commedia dell’arte piece however, the characters do bear some resemblance to several of the stock character types from Commedia and study of these stock types can aid the student’s understanding of way the characters can be enacted.
Online Workshops:
Character study is our starting point using animals, tension states and Commedia dell’Arte stock types to encourage students into their bodies. We examine key sequences and scenes, analysing how comedy can be created through comic devices and characterisation. Where possible, this will be examined practically, allowing the comedy to be seen, heard and experienced, leading to a deeper appreciation of how to create farcical comedy. Students are encouraged to verbalise what they are doing and what they are seeing in the demonstrations, so that they can develop the language needed for writing at greater depth.
In person workshops:
For an intense participatory session, it is best to book a workshop that takes place in person in your classroom, delivered with social distancing and infection control measures.
Being face to face enables us to access the text and characters through some initial games, based on scenes from the play, such as ‘Bomb in the Room!’. These help to develop ensemble complicite, confidence to exaggerate and a sense of playfulness and fun that will help participants access the characters and the text. We move onto physicality, using animals, tension states and Commedia dell’Arte masks to encourage students into their bodies.
We examine key sequences and scenes in a practical way, allowing the characters to leap from the page so that the comedy can be seen, heard and experienced. This leads to a deeper appreciation of how to create farcical comedy. Students are encouraged to verbalise what they are doing physically so that they can develop the language needed for writing at greater depth.
“Cheryl’s workshop was finely tuned to ensure no time was wasted within the intensive three hours. I highly recommend Cheryl for your students - it was invaluable and I look forward to inviting her back next year”