Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Many a Slip

Accidental Death of an Anarchist

by Dario Fo and Franca Ramé, adapted by Tom Basden

Putney Theatre Company at the Putney Arts Theatre until 29^th March

Review by Polly Davies

Dario Fo’s multi-layered play makes a bold swansong. But for an astute director like Barney Hart Dyke Accidental Death of an Anarchist presented the ideal culmination of his much-acclaimed tenure as Artistic Co-Director of Putney Theatre Company, a post he has held with his wife Cait, together a driving force for the company’s recent diverse and successful seasons. However, it also was an opportunity to nurture the growing talent of Owen Thomas-James, as his assistant director, who is making his directorial company debut taking up the tough choice of a farce. However, Barney Hart Dyke has a wealth of experience in directing farce, a genre where slick movement and laughter must be finely balanced.

In the event, there is a lot of laughter, and plenty of slick moves, for Tom Everatt’s energetic central character is clearly inspired by Dario Fo’s own oeuvre. The Nobel prize-winning author was known as both a successful satirist and as a comic. As an early adopter of the agit-prop style theatre, in his own performances he successfully combined political satire, physical comedy and mime. And this play offers a full hand of all these skills alongside some swiftly executed role changes.

The play is inspired by the death in custody of a suspect in an Italian bombing case in the 1960s. Fo uses this scandal to expose the level of corruption and neo-fascism endemic in the Italian police force in this period. It was always intended as a vehicle to carry contemporary political messages, and Tom Basden’s script changes, with a few topical updates, does this perfectly.

A simple set, with a clever trick with the townscape to show a change of location, sets the scene. The plot depends on the audience accepting two somewhat contradictory facts; that the main character, known only as The Maniac, is simultaneously suffering from a mental illness that means he sees the world as a stage on which he is the principal actor; and that he is able to subtly manipulate the police officers responsible for the death, convincing them that he is on their side, as he unpicks the explanations they have provided. This gives the author the chance to inject some real craziness into what could otherwise be a dark and disturbing tale of police corruption and incompetence.

Tom Everatt’s performance as The Maniac undoubtedly achieves this, both when delivering the script that brings about their undoing, and equally in the convincingly maniacal episodes. He misses no opportunity to get a laugh from the audience in the process.

As he has, by a long way, the majority of the script to deliver, I have no idea how he has the energy to throw himself with such agility into the knock-about physical comedy which erupts and subsides throughout the second act. And all credit to whoever directed the realistic comedy fight scenes. Tom’s impressive Yorkshire accent as an unlikely expert witness provided an interesting distraction as he slowly trapped the police in a web of their own making.

Tim Iredale and Jacob Smith’s excellent characterisation as the self-important Superintendent Curry and the plodding Detective Daisy, as they slowly realise that their attempts to cover up their role in the death slowly unravel, is totally credible. As is David Webb’s down to earth Inspector Burton, driven to desperate means as he watches his colleagues mesmerised by the madman he earlier had attempted to arrest. A lovely comedy cameo by Harry Pavlou as P C Joseph sets a welcome counterbalance to the crazy meander around the truth, through which The Maniac leads his colleagues.

Maybe a slight slowing of the pace and a bit less shouting would give the audience more time to absorb the political messages inherent in the script, but Accidental Death of an Anarchist offers an enjoyable, funny and thought-provoking evening.

Polly Davies, March 2025

Photography by Steve Lippett