Online Learning Resources
We’re not sure when we will be able to get back into schools to lead workshops so we’re putting what we can online as a resource for teachers, students and others who may be interested. Obviously it is never quite as effective as being in the same room but we can try our best!
We’re starting with a series of online videos and will move to interactive live classes after Easter.
The first series that we have uploaded is a collection of 19 videos for the study of Dario Fo's play Accidental Death of An Anarchist. This satirical farce, written in 1970, is based on real-life and highly controversial events involving the death of Italian rail worker and anarchist, Giuseppe Pinelli. Accused of the notorious Piazza Fontana bombing, Pinelli was being questioned at Police Headquarters when he somehow fell to his death from the fourth floor window of the building.
There was a court investigation into Pinelli’s death at which various pieces of conflicting evidence and contradictory statements were presented. It was always publicly suspected that the three policemen involved in the questioning were somehow responsible for pushing him out of the window, however the investigation concluded that the police officers were not responsible and the death was categorised as ‘accidental’.
In this video series, Cheryl goes into the historical, political and cultural context of the play and looks at the influence of Commedia dell’Arte on Dario Fo. Cheryl demonstrates five stock characters from Commedia dell’Arte and then looks at what aspects of these could be used to inform an actor’s performance within Accidental Death of An Anarchist. Cheryl takes you through the idiosyncrasies of each character, whilst also demonstrating specific skills for comedy.
The aim of these videos is primarily to help A Level students with the written component of the textual study. It is relevant to study on several syllabi: AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas/WJEC. The version referred to is the Methuen version, adapted by Gavin Richards. More info can be found on our Resources page.
