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Stage
Playwright's work translates despite barriers
In choosing We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! Jobsite Theater wasn't dissuaded by the political theories in Dario Fo's plays, or language issues.
By MARTY CLEAR
Published June 1, 2006
American audiences don't often get a chance to experience the plays of Dario Fo. Jobsite Theater is doing what it can to remedy that. "Dario Fo is a genuine cult hero in Italy," said David M. Jenkins, Jobsite's artistic director and the director of the upcoming production of Fo's We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! "He won the Nobel Prize in 1997. But he's really underproduced in this country." Perhaps the reason American theater companies shy away from Fo is that he's an Italian socialist who writes absurdist plays with strong socio-political sentiments. That's not a sure-fire formula for box office success. But Jenkins said audiences needn't fear Fo. "It appeals to me because it's theater with a conscience," Jenkins said. "But he's a very populist playwright. He writes for the masses." Fo's work may show the influence of Ionesco and Karl Marx, but Jenkins said it also has roots in Italian improvised drama, farce and vaudeville. "His characters are very much aware of the audience," Jenkins said. "He's not afraid to break down the fourth wall." We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! is the second Fo show Jobsite has produced. The first, in 2000, was The Accidental Death of an Anarchist. It was also the first show the company co-produced with the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and was an important step in Jobsite's becoming the resident theater company at the Shimberg Playhouse. The new show, which brings together a cast of Jobsite veterans (Ward Smith, Katrina Stevenson, Chris Holcom, Michael C. McGreevey and Meg Heimstead), is a comedy of errors that is spurred by a woman whose poverty forces her to shoplift groceries. "It's really hard to describe a Dario Fo show linearly because there are so many complications and situations that just keep compounding and compounding." One problem with producing Fo plays in America, Jenkins said, is that many English translations of his work aren't very good. For this production, Jobsite obtained the rights to a translation by Ron Jenkins, who specializes in Fo. Because the themes of We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! concern hunger, Jobsite is collecting donations of food for Metropolitan Ministries. Barrels will be set up outside the theater before each show, and audience members and others are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items. PreviewWe Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! opens tonight and runs through June 18 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Shimberg Playhouse, 1010 N MacInnes Place, Tampa. 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday. $16.50, $19.50, $21.50 plus service charge. Call (813) 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045, or go to tbpac.org.
[Last modified May 31, 2006, 12:22:57]
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