The Collected Plays, Vol. 2: Mistero Buffo

by Dario Fo, Ron Jenkins

Mistero Buffo is Dario Fo’s one-man tour de force, in which he creates his own subversive version of Biblical stories. Infused with the rhythmic drive of a jazz improvisation, the immediacy of a newspaper headline, and the epic scope of a historical novel, Fo and his wife/collaborator Franca Rame have performed Mistero Buffo throughout the world to over 10 million people. One of the major theatrical artists of the twentieth century, Italy’s Dario Fo was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. Ron Jenkins ’ translations of Dario Fo have been performed across the country. He is the theater department chair at Wesleyan University.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Dario Fo was an Italian satirist, playwright, theatre director, actor, and composer. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997. In 2007 he was ranked Joint Seventh with Stephen Hawking in The Telegraph's list of 100 greatest living geniuses. His dramatic work employed comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the proletarian classes. He owned and operated a theatre company with his wife, the leading actress Franca Rame. Dario Fo died in Milan on October 13th 2016, at the age of 90.

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb me tijdens het lezen van dit stuk kostelijk vermaakt, tegen aller verwachtingen in. Toen ik begon met lezen dacht ik wel even dat dit een taaie ouwe tekst zal zijn. En oid, dat is het, maar taai, zeker niet. Met veel lucht volg je het levensverhaal van Jezus, op wijze die mij doet twijfelen over de christelijkheid van Dario Fo (dat zou ik even moeten uitzoeken), aan het einde, het laatste nummer dat is toegevoegd wordt gesproken over rebellenzang, wat mij daarin ook een associatie legt --> rebelleren tegen de kerk?

Ik heb het script gelezen van De Internationale Scene +/- 95 blz (itt de in deze versie 100-nogwat --> telt het dan omdat ik het script van Giovanni's kamer heb gelezen toch ;))

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring to read

[Richard Leis · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Wisława Szymborska poetry, the transition to Dario Fo's Nobel Prize winning Mistero Buffo was difficult for me. It took me some pages to find the rhythm of his work, which really should be experienced onstage. The subject matter is religious "mysteries" as performed by giullari. These works were often profane, blasphemous, wickedly witty, and full of slapstick, scatalogical detail, and cursing. They were still religious, however, a religion of the peasants, of the poor people, responding to the corrupt institutions around them, including masters, kingdoms, and organized religion. Fo translated and updated some of these mysteries to comment on modern institutions as well, resulting in something that is entertaining, educational, and powerfully political.

It was difficult for me to "act out" this work in my imagination, because of the content and because I am somewhat ignorant of performance art. I watched a few clips on YouTube of Fo performing his work and it transformed what I understood from my reading.

The three stars I'm giving this work is not meant to downplay the quality or importance of Fo's work, but does reflect that I personally find scatalogical humor gross and upsetting. How elitist and prudish of me, but such is the temperament of my stomach.

[Adam.delconte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy this, read it, and try not to weep as you laugh.

[Greg Converse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in reading the works of Nobel laureates and this was available in my local library. I think it performs better than it reads, but it is a "good read."