The Devil with Boobs
The Devil in Drag is a two-act play by Dario Fo
First produced: Messina, Teatro Vittorio Emmanuele, 7 August 1997 (directed by Dario Fo).
English production: National Theatre Youth project, Summer 1999.
Plot
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 'tits' 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.' [1]
Translations
An authorised English translation has been made by Ed Emery.[2]
References
- ^ Cappa and Nepoli, Dario Fo, 1997 edition, pp. 153-4. Cited in Tony Mitchell, The People's Court Jester, Methuen Books, London 1999
- ^ Dario Fo, The Devil in Drag, trans. Ed Emery, in New Connections 99, Faber and Faber, London, 1999. Online version at http://www.geocities.ws/dariofoarchive/devil.html