ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST
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- Wollongong Workshop Theatre
- July 24-August 2
Accidental Death of an Anarchist director Rebecca Ellis chose to helm the play after falling in love with it as a teenager.
"This is my favourite play," Ellis says. "I studied it in high school and have read it a few times since leaving school and I loved it.
"Also the themes of the play about police brutality and police corruption are still relevant today. Especially in light of all the events happening in America, like Ferguson. So I thought it would be a good idea to stage it again."
It's Ellis' first attempt at directing a full-length play, having been in charge of several 15-minute efforts for Wollongong Workshop Theatre.
The play, written in 1970 by Italian playwright Dario Fo, is based on the real-life death of anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli. Pinelli died while being detained by Italian police over a bombing in 1969. He fell to his death from the fourth-floor window of the Milan police station. While it was officially ruled an accidental death, questions remain as to whether he jumped or was pushed to his death.
The play itself is fictional, focusing on police inspector Bertozzo and The Maniac as the pair spar verbally in a room on the third floor of the police station.
In another diversion from real-life events, the play actually has a vein of comedy running through it. It's this contradiction of laughing at deadly events that was part of the play's appeal for Ellis.
"We're laughing at something that is really serious and that really happened," she says. "This anarchist really did fall out a window and it's still ambiguous as to whether they pushed him or he jumped.
"There's a body on stage the whole time, as Dario Fo has said, and we're laughing at that.
"As you leave the theatre, you realise you've been laughing at this poor man's death. It's that contradiction that I like."
While it might seem like the play would take the side of The Maniac over the police, Ellis says it's not that black and white; the characters come with shades of grey.
"They all have qualities that you like and you hate at the same time," she says.
"For example, Inspector Bertozzo - he's a terrible character but you really support him because he's constantly getting put down by the others and you really want him to have his moment."
While the Wollongong Workshop Theatre version largely stays with the original play, Ellis says there is scope for the actors to inject some off-the-cuff jokes in the sections where they address the audience directly.
"We've modernised it in the ad-lib moments in the talks to the audience, that's how we brought it into the 21st century," she says.
"I think just because the play is so perfect I wanted to be true and stick to its truth as much as I could."
And the ending of the play is a surprise - there are actually two of them.
"Yes, it's up the audience to decide how the play ends," she says.
"They see both endings and it's their choice as to how the play ends. It hammers home the message of the play, about the contrast between the left and the right side. It's ultimately up the audience as to how they feel about the play at the end."
■ There will be an extra show on Thursday, July 30, at 8pm, with discounted tickets available for high school students. Accidental Death of an Anarchist is being studied in the HSC.