John Hooper in Rome
ITALY’S most celebrated dramatist, Dario Fo, has been left partially blind by a stroke, he revealed in an interview published last week. For several months he had also had problems with his speech and memory.
In July 1995, Fo called off a tour of Europe. At the time, he was reported to have suffered a minor heart attack.
But in another interview he disclosed that his heart rate had accelerated, and that complications had developed. His vision was reduced by 90%.
One consequence – worthy of one of his own plays – was that the scientific name of something would come to his mind more readily than the ordinary one. He once referred to a cod as a “fast-swimming fish of the Baltic”.
The author of Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay said his treatment required him to walk for several hours a day. His doctor said his condition would improve according to how many kilometres he walked.
Fo, aged 70, said his memory had improved and his speech recovered, but he still suffered heart palpitations and difficulties with his sight.
It has not prevented him from working. He has held a drama course in Denmark, helped stage exhibitions in Italy and the Netherlands, dubbed the soundtrack of an animated cartoon and appeared at many festivals.
He was a key figure in post-1968 Italy, a hero of the radical left who was once arrested for subversion.