The Devil with Boobs

The Devil with Boobs
Written byDario Fo
Original languageItalian

The Devil with Boobs (Italian title: Il diavolo con le zinne)[1] is a two-act play by Dario Fo, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature.

First produced at Messina's Teatro Vittorio Emmanuele on 7 August 1997 (directed by Dario Fo), an English production occurred at the National Theatre Youth project in Summer 1999.

Described by Fo as "a Machiavellian comedy, a gigantic late sixteenth-century intrigue, with judges and devils, housekeepers possessed by devils, hermits, gendarmes, torturers and even a monkey", it featured an homage to his long-time collaborator Fiorenzo Carpi who had died earlier that year (1997).[2]

Plot summary

As described by Cappa and Nepoli, 'Alfonso Ferdinando de Tristano, an incorruptible, progressive magistrate (who disapproves of torture as an instrument of persuasion) investigates an arson in the cathedral. Unhappy about being subjected to his investigation, the prominent citizens of the town launch a campaign to discredit him, employing a couple of devils. One of them is instructed to enter the magistrate's body "through the most suitable orifice, the anus," transforming him into a rogue, a debauchee, a hypocrite and a black marketeer. Due to a misunderstanding, the devil Barlocca enters the body of Pizzocca Gannàssa, Alfonso's elderly and ungainly housekeeper, who is transformed into a delectable, busty lady (the 'boobs' of the title). Led astray by this beauty, the magistrate is dragged into court, but the she-devil allows him to be acquitted. Nonetheless, he is condemned to become a galley slave in a subsequent trial.' [3]

Translations

Ed Emery has carried out an English translation.[4]

Further reading

  • Mitchell, Tony (1999), Dario Fo: People's Court Jester (Updated and Expanded), London: Methuen, ISBN 0-413-73320-3.

References

  1. ^ Mitchell 1999, p. 227
  2. ^ Mitchell 1999, pp. 227–229
  3. ^ Cappa and Nepoli, Dario Fo, 1997 edition, pp. 153-4. Cited in Tony Mitchell, The People's Court Jester, Methuen Books, London 1999.
  4. ^ Fo, Dario. The Devil in Drag, trans. Ed Emery, in New Connections 99, Faber and Faber, London, 1999.
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Works by Dario Fo
1950s
1960s
  • He Had Two Pistols with White and Black Eyes (1960)
  • He Who Steals a Foot is Lucky in Love (1961)
  • Isabella, Three Sailing Ships and a Con Man (1963)
  • Throw the Lady Out (1967)
  • Grand Pantomime with Flags and Small and Middle-sized Puppets (1968)
  • Mistero Buffo (1969)
  • The Worker Knows 300 Words, the Boss Knows 1000, That's Why He's the Boss (1969)
  • Chain Me Up and I'll Still Smash Everything (1969)
1970s
  • I'd Rather Die Tonight If I Had To Think It Had All Been In Vain (1970)
  • Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970)
  • United We Stand! All Together Now! Oops, Isn't That the Boss? (1971)
  • Fedayn (1972)
  • Mamma Togni (1973)
  • The People's War in Chile (1973)
  • Porta and Belli Against the Authorities (1974)
  • Can't Pay? Won't Pay! (1974)
  • Fanfani Kidnapped (1975)
  • Mother's Marijuana is the Best (1976)
  • Let's Talk About Women (1977)
  • All House, Bed and Church (1977)
  • The Tale of a Tiger (1978)
1980s
1990s
  • Hush! We're Falling! (1990)
  • Johan Padan and the Discovery of the Americas (1992)
  • Seventh Commandment: Steal a Bit Less No. 2 (1992)
  • Mummy! The Sans-culottes! (1993)
  • Sex? Thanks, Don't Mind If I Do! (1994)
  • Leonardo: The Flight, the Count and the Amours (1995)
  • The Devil with Boobs (1997)
  • The Two-Headed Anomaly (2003)
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