In its first two years of production in Italy, Dario Fo's notorious
Accidental Death of an Anarchist was seen by over half a million people.
It has since been performed all over the world, and become a classic of
twentieth-century drama. A sharp and hilarious satire on police
corruption, it concerns the case of an anarchist railway worker who, in
1969, 'fell' to his death from a police headquarters window.
'I ought to warn you that the author of this sick little play, Dario Fo,
has the traditional, irrational hatred of the police common to all
narrowminded left-wingers and so I shall, no doubt, be the unwilling
butt of endless anti-authoritarian jibes.' (Inspector Bertozzo, Central
Italian Police HQ)
'A marvellous concept: a zany political farce.' (Michael Billington)
This edition has been adapted by Gavin Richards from Gillian Hanna's
translation and features an introduction by Stuart Hood and a preface by
Dario Fo.