All female cast for STC's Dario Fo classic comedy
Right: Amber McMahon. Photo by Rene Vaile.
A play that is as absurd and paranoid as the times in which we live, Accidental Death of an Anarchist opens at the Sydney Opera House this September directed by Sarah Giles for the Sydney Theatre Company. In a first for the play, and with the blessing of the Fo estate, it will be performed by an all-female cast led by some of the country’s funniest comedians, including Caroline Brazier (ABC’s Rake, STC’s Dinner), Amber McMahon (STC’s The Popular Mechanicals), Julie Forsyth (STC’s The Popular Mechanicals), and Susie Youssef (ABC’s Squinters and Rosehaven).
Written by Italian Nobel laureate Dario Fo in 1970, this farce with a political sting has become an absurdist classic. Sarah Giles’ decision for an all-female cast was inspired in part, by Melissa McCarthy’s iconic performance as Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live.
“Melissa’s gender wasn’t a provocation or a distraction, she’s simply the best actor for the role,” Giles says. “Her ability to find a balance between truth and exaggeration, to see Spicer in her own particular way and take certain parts of him and highlight them to hilarious and brilliant effect was utter genius.”
This new adaptation, created by Giles with co-adaptor Francis Greenslade (ABC’s Mad as Hell) is s a battle of the individual against the establishment, of underdog against overlord, of anarchy against tyranny. A man has fallen to his death from a police station window. Did he jump or was he pushed? The cops want a cover up, but first they have to contend with an unlikely detective – a certified lunatic with a knack for impersonation.
The show brings together some of Australia’s best screen and stage talent which includes Annie Maynard (ABC’s Upper Middle Bogan, SBS’s Dead Lucky, Network 10’s Playing for Keeps) and Bessie Holland (Foxtel’s Wentworth).
Director Sarah Giles. Designer Jonathon Oxlade. Lighting Designer Trent Suidgeest. Composer & Sound Designer Stefan Gregory. Assistant Director Heather Fairbairn.
With: Caroline Brazier, Julie Forsyth, Bessie Holland, Annie Maynard, Amber McMahon, Susie Youssef.
Season 10 September – 27 October. Opening Night: Friday 14 September 2018. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House/ Bookings: 02 9250 1777 or boxoffice@sydneytheatre.com.au