SOURCE: "The Un-American Satire of Dario Fo," in Partisan Review, Vol. LI, No. 1, 1984, pp. 112-19.

In the following, Schechter emphasizes the political satire in Fo's work.

Dario Fo received official recognition as a subversive comedian in May 1980, when the United States government refused to let him perform in New York. The Italian satirist and his wife, actress Franca Rame, were denied entry visas by the State Department. Comic monologues performed by the couple in Italy, England, France, Germany, Canada, Peru, and China for over a million spectators could not be seen in America. While the State Department kept the performers out, their satire has recently entered the country in the form of dramatic texts. One of Fo's plays, We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay!, was staged in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Detroit during the past three years. Another satire, Accidental Death of An Anarchist...