Edinburgh Festivals

Fringe 2001

The Anarchist Plays
Dublin University Players

Patrick Hayes

The Anarchist Plays is an extended and 'modernised' version of Dario Fo's classic The Accidental Death of an Anarchist.

Dario Fo apparently expressed a desire to see his play The Accidental Death of an Anarchist as a work in progress, continually subject to new interpretations. Dan Stewart boldly takes this one step further, not only littering the original script with references to the internet, George Bush and Kyoto, but also extending the play, returning to the characters thirty years later in a nursing home.

Certainly the original does not suffer from this modernisation, despite a fairly awful mock-Shakespearean introductory diatribe about how one should come out of the play with a social conscience, sympathising with the spirit of anarchy etc. What makes this production stand out from others is the flawless cast from the Dublin University Players. Shane Keating is utterly brilliant as the Maniac, his timing, expressions, charisma and sheer energy make even the corniest of jokes appear hilarious. The trio of policemen (portrayed by Conor Feeney, Tim Walker and Dan Stewart) also bond together really effectively.

Fo's original was intended to be a short play, involving a left wing journalist, duping three policemen into creating false evidence to convict them of a murder of an anarchist (which they almost certainly committed.) The moral lurking behind the play was that any trial takes place using dubious, probably false, evidence and that juries and those in power can easily manipulate the outcome of the trial.

This potent message is clouded, however, with the addition of Stewart's own Continuing Struggle, which returns to the characters thirty years later in a nursing home. This exercise was intended to make a statement about the continuing persecution of the individuals upon whom Fo's characters were originally based. Stewart claims he also saw the need to respond to the riots in Gothenburg and Genoa.

Unfortunately this attempt is The Anarchist Plays downfall. Stewart is unable to mimic the colourful, rapid, witty dialogue of the original and the strength of the characters is diminished. The introduction of the Nurse, who is weakly played by Renata McDonnell, does not aid matters. The climax, where the ghost of the Superintendent appears, seems pointless and ridiculous. The final speech about how the spirit of anarchy will not die but multiply is cringeworthy and you leave wishing Stewart hadn't bothered, and just given us a faithful interpretation of the original.