Or, perhaps laughing out loud. Philip Stilon wonders why Dario Fo, whose sense of humour matches that of the Maltese, is not performed more in Malta. He talks improvisation, life’s absurdities and bursting out laughing in rehearsals to Veronica Stivala.

Dario Fo is probably the most widely-performed playwright in world theatre. Although his works have been performed in Malta, Philip Stilon wonders why Fo is not performed more on the island.

“He is very Mediterranean and his sense of humour is very close to ours. And Maltese audiences love a good comedy,” the actor observes.

Some examples of Fo performances in Malta include the farce about sexual politics in marriage, The Open Couple (Acting House, 2002) and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist (in the 1990s) in which Stilon took part. Stilon explains that “Fo’s plays have a lot to offer, since they are intelligent and well-written plays”.

At the end of the month Unifaun Theatre Productions will be presenting two instalments of Fo’s fine comedies: The Virtuous Burglar and Marcolfa.

It is the first time that Marcolfa is being performed outside Italy. In fact, the English version, translated by Joseph Farrell, is being given a world premiere.

Marcolfa is a farce surrounding the story of an old woman called Marcolfa, played by Alan Paris (that’s right!). Old Marcolfa wins the European lottery. Suddenly, her skint employer, the Marquis of Trerate (Alan Montanaro) and the man he owes money to, want to marry her. Marcolfa does not expect this sudden attention from the men and decides to play her game. This is a very physical piece with precise entrances and exits that make up a good farce.

Stilon will be playing the burglar in the second of the two plays, The Virtuous Burglar, one of Fo’s best known farces. The play deals with the consequences of a failed burglary, but unfortunately, from that point onwards, the situation does not improve at all.

Not an easy part to play, Stilon explains how “it is a role that requires a lot of comic timing and clowning in the Fo sense. The comedy is very physical and timing is of the essence but working with such experienced comic actors helps”.

With farce there is a lot of improvisation involved. This is especially so in Fo’s plays, which actually allow for it.

Stilon says that the point of departure is the script. Now that they have been rehearsing for a few weeks the actors are at the point of improvising and adding, but the basis is always the script.

Fo has said: “...all real theatre is theatre of situation. Every theatrical action arises from a situation on stage which is full of possibilities for developing the action. The dialogue is only one of the tools to express these developments.”

All real theatre is theatre of situation

Stilon admits that it is not just the script and words but what you do with them. “Farce also works if you get the timing right. There is also a strong element of physicality which has to be part and parcel of the comic plot.”

Fo uses these tools as a master. In fact, at rehearsals, which can prove to be a lot of hard work, the actors can’t keep themselves from laughing and splitting their sides. Stilon adds: “I think that when you get the casting right, as the producer and director seem to have done in this case, these tools become easier to access.”

Stilon notes how each actor brings something of his or hers to the table: “Magda (Van Kuilenburg), playing my wife acts as a wonderful balance to my character. She does that by making the character her own. Alan Montanaro is a master at improvisation and Chris Gatt, the director, is giving him space to stretch his legs in the comedy. All the other actors, including Mikhail, Coryse, Renato, Charlotte and Alan Paris are putting their souls into the characters with improvisation, but keeping faithful to the script and storyline.”

The most difficult part of acting Fo, confides Stilon, is keeping in mind that this is written by an Italian playwright and therefore one must appreciate the Italian character and also the spirit of Italian comedy.

Although The Virtuous Burglar, one of Fo’s first plays, was written in 1958, Stilon argues how it is still relevant today as it is a play about human situations.

“Years might go by, but human nature does not change. This is a play about a poor man struggling with rich people. It is a play in which we discover that the burglar is actually the innocent man in the business on stage with all the characters involved in some mad affair or cover up. It is an absurd piece, but then isn’t life absurd?”

This is early Fo, before he became political, so the accent is on the comedy and the farce. It is still relevant also because it deals with relationships, with characters having affairs on the side and then lying to each other to hide their sins. There is also innocence where we least expect it – the burglar.

Double Fo runs at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, from March 29 to April 6.

www.unifauntheatre.com

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