Archangels Don't Play Pinball

Archangels Don't Play Pinball (Italian title: Gli arcangeli non giocano al flipper)[1] is a 1959 two-act play by Dario Fo. The play uses the metaphor of a pinball machine—a new innovation in Italy at the time and one which Fo and his wife Franca Rame were fond of— to convey mechanisation and conspicuous consumption.[2]

Archangels Don't Play Pinball
Written byDario Fo
Original languageItalian

Plot summary

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The play by the Ljubljana Drama Theatre in 1963

A group of young Milanese men play a prank on one of their group - "Lofty". They arrange for a fake marriage to take place between Lofty and a prostitute who pretends to be a beautiful Albanian princess. Lofty has a problem - he needs to get identity papers from the Ministry. The only way he can do this is to become a dog. He is taken into a local kennel, where he is eventually bought by a circus owner. After various further adventures, Lofty eventually awakes, only to find that it has all been a dream with the lovely lady there with him. Archangels don't play pinball with people's lives.[3]

Song

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The play is also noted for its use of song. One example is "Stringimi forte i polsi" (Hold my wrists tightly together) which the protagonist Il Lungo (Stretch) sings to an "Albanian" prostitute whose wrists he is bound to.[2] It would later be the theme tune to the TV programme Canzonissima which the playwright, Dario Fo, makes a controversial appearance on.[4]

Translations

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Ed Emery has carried out an authorised English translation.[5]

Further reading

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

References

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  1. ^ Mitchell 1999, p. 65
  2. ^ a b Mitchell 1999, p. 67
  3. ^ Mitchell 1999, pp. 65–70
  4. ^ Mitchell 1999, pp. 67–68
  5. ^ Fo, Dario. Archangels Don't Play Pinball, trans. Ed Emery, Methuen Books, London, 1987. Online version at http://www.geocities.ws/dariofoarchive/archangels.html