Witty farce ‘Accidental Death’ explores abuse of authority

The Italian criminal justice system has long been famously twisted, as the six-year saga of U.S. citizen Amanda Knox, accused of murder, reminds us. Chaminade’s latest production pokes fun at that system. In doing so, the play critiques corruption of power wherever it may occur.

“Accidental Death of an Anarchist” focuses on Italy’s inquisitorial legal process, wherein judge, prosecutor and police all work together during the investigative process.

On stage, as the farcical plot unfolds, Italian playwright Dario Fo makes a scathing statement on the flagrant abuse of authority that allows this weighted arm of the law to be hammered on an innocent detainee.

It’s a fast-talking sociopolitical commentary, inspired by the real-life 1969 case of wrongly accused anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who hurtled to his death from a police station window. Official reports stated he had fallen or committed suicide, though evidence suggested otherwise.

The play opens with police interrogating the accused, referred to as “the Maniac.” As farce would have it, Maniac is the smartest one in a room full of bumbling cops. He’s a standard astute trickster from the commedia dell’arte genre.

Though the subject matter is dark, the plot is also ludicrous. Director Christine Lamborn and a cast of six student actors find comedy in the dissonance, delivering many laughs, with bits and spurts of physical buffoonery that kept the house howling and clapping on opening night. At times the zaniness goes so over-the-top as to verge on theater of the absurd.

Some of the props and antics work better than others, but anyone with an appreciation for history, political science, society and culture, wordplay and intellectual headiness will find a trove of delight here. Fo, a left-wing activist and writer, was also a comedian, and that’s evident in the play’s deeply witty dialogue and on-target zingers.

Malia Wessel as Maniac zips through her sizable monologues with aplomb and is responsible for much of the quick flow and high energy of the piece.

Katherine Altman plays the hectoring Superintendent of this corrupt operation. Wessel and Altman bring boiling energy to their roles, but in attempting to play strong male characters, the two actresses carry the play to a high volume and high pitch. It’s not until Annastasia Fiala-Watkins enters as a journalist – a woman in a woman’s role – that we get a modulation in tone.

Dean Mo, playing two different constables, doesn’t have much dialogue, but he delivers some of the best one-liners while playing a likeable dimwit. His facial contortions are simply funny.

There’s a sober political segment in the second half that comes on suddenly and has a tacked-on, hit-the-hammer-over-the-head feel. Nevertheless, much of the Marx Brothers style comedy and food-for-thought content outweigh any unevenness and make for an engaging night out.

The politics of the play include issues familiar to contemporary audiences, from gun violence to Russian spies and the disparate treatment of black people. Although these might seem like they belong to an updated script, they were included in Fo’s original work, proving that the play is still timely. Political and social issues present 50 years ago are still prevalent today.

The production gives the audience some meaty matter for conversation on the ride home.

“Accidental Death of an Anarchist” is the first of two shows in Chaminade University’s fourth annual Collegiate Theatre Festival, with drama students in the roles of producer, director, actors, designers and technicians. “Dead Accounts,” a production that also addresses corruption of power, follows from July 13 to July 22.