A Tunisian adaptation of a 1974
play by Dario Fo titled "Sotto paga, non si paga!" (produced in
English under the title "Can't Pay? Won't Pay!"), arguably one
of the Nobel Prize winner's most famous plays, has debuted to
great public and critical acclaim in Tunis at the El Teatro
theatre under the title "Mankhalsouch".
It's the first time the play has been performed in Tunisia,
and came from an idea by director Mohamed Ali Galaai and
screenwriter Ghassen Hafsia, who translated the original Italian
into Tunisian arabic dialect.
The comedy has prophetic and timely content, given Tunisia's
current situation, with themes such as economic crisis, the new
poor, sky-high prices, and factories reaping working-class
victims.
It's this connection between Fo's writing and the current
situation in Tunisia that has caught the public's attention and
curiosity.
Hafsia told ANSAmed that this particular work by Fo was the
most interesting to "us artists of the so-called RAI 1
generation, who grew up watching Italian television in the 1970s
and 1980s, because we were struck by the remarkable similarity
between events in the original play and the current situation in
Tunisia, which is going through a deep economic and social
crisis and a fragile political stability from the January 14,
2011 revolution".
"Like in the Dario Fo comedy, this crisis particularly
touches the working class, which is the first victim of the
economic crises through firings and speculation, but recently in
Tunisia has become a deep social crisis and has brought forward
significant demands by workers. Treating such delicate topics
with the typical language of comedy is able to attract the
Tunisian audience, which traditionally loves comedy. We
therefore decied to put a Tunisian version of Fo's play on
stage, respecting the satirical comedic style he held dear. We
have many points in common with the Italian author, in fact; in
particular, his efforts for improved social equality, and his
work about and for the people," he said.
"Our goal is to undertake an actual tour across the country
to try to reach the most people possible, and to reflect on the
need for collective citizen action to overcome the country's
current difficulties. By putting this comedy on stage for the
first time in Tunisia, we're also aiming at paying tribute to
the great Italian artist that was Dario Fo, and to introduce
him to a large audience here as well".
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