Based on a real-life 1969 police killing, Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist is a farce about the dangers of a bumbling police state. First produced just one year after Giuseppe Pinelli’s defenestration, Fo’s play deals with a Bugs Bunny-ish Maniac who infiltrates a police station, wreaking havoc while outsmarting authorities and running around in a series of loopy disguises. As the Maniac, Kelly Robertson is required to carry most of the play, and she does so with a manic greed that’s really fun to watch. The opening scenes are a little rough, lacking the comic timing and choreographic vision necessary for physical comedy, but once the actors hit their stride it’s entertaining even if you can’t keep up with, say, the names of Italian political newspapers or the references to the Chilean coup of 1973.
photo: Seth Jacobson Photography