“The Open Couple” (Leftero Zevgari) by by Dario Fo and Franca Rame

The play:
“The Open Couple” was written in 1983 by Dario Fo and Franca Rame. It is a political farce about marital fidelity and infidelity.
A man involved in extramarital affairs tries to persuade his wife, who is constantly attempting to commit suicide, to find a lover in order for their marriage to be free and open.
What happens though, when the woman follows his advice? Will the spouse continue to support an open marriage? An open couple?

About the writers:
Dario Fo was born in Leggiuno Sangiano, Varese, Italy on 24 March 1926 and passed away on 13 October 2016. He was a playwright, comedy writer, actor, theatre director and songwriter. His father was an amateur actor and a socialist. Fo was introduced to the art of storytelling by his grandmother and the fishermen and glass blowers of Lombardy. He moved to Milan to study Architecture in 1940.
During World War II, his family took part in the anti-fascist struggle and he is said to have collaborated with his father in order to help refugees and soldiers of the Allies flee to Switzerland. When WWII ended, he completed his studies in Architecture and began to present his improvised monologues in the so-called small theaters (teatri piccoli) in Milan.
In 1951 he met Franca Rame, who became his partner in life and in art. Their son, Jacopo, was born on 31 March 1955.

Fo and Rame collaborated on many film and theatrical productions, while in 1959 they founded the theatrical group ‘Dario Fo-Franca Rame’ in Milan. Fo would write the scripts, act, direct and design costumes, while Rame had administrative responsibilities. Fo became internationally known for his play ‘Archangels Don’t Play Pinball’, which was staged in Zagreb.

In 1968, Fo and Rame founded the theatrical collective ‘New Stage’ (Associazione Nuova Scena), turning an abandoned factory into a theater. In 1970, they left the ‘New Stage’ due to political controversies and established their third theatrical team, ‘Collettivo Teatrale La Comune’.

Their works were based on improvisation and related to contemporary problems: abuse of power, unstable situation in the Palestinian territories, injustice, racism, women’s position in society, etc. The team relocated to the ‘Rossini Cinema’ in Milan in 1973.
Fo’s criticism of the police in one of his works resulted in police raids and increased censorship.
On March 8, a neo-fascist group abducted Franca Rame, tortured and raped her. With new anti-fascist monologues, Rame returned to the stage two months thereafter. In 1980, Fo and his family found refuge at the Free University of Alcatraz, in the hills near Gubbio and Perugia.

Dario Fo has been awarded the Sonning, Premio Eduardo, Obie and Agro Dolce prizes for his work, while on 9 October 1997 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Among his well-known works are the following:
‘Archangels Don’t Play Pinball’, ‘Mistero Buffo’, ‘Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!’, ‘Mother’s Marijuana is the Best’, ‘All Home, Bed and Church’, ‘The Open Couple’, ‘The Pope and the Witch’.

Franca Rame was born on 18 July 1929 in Parabiago, Lombardy and died in Milan on 29 May 2013, at the age of 83. She came from a family with a long tradition in the art of theatre. She made her theatrical debut in 1951 and later met fellow writer and actor Dario Fo, whom she married in 1954. In the 1970s she began writing her own works, mainly monologues with feminist content, including ‘Grasso è bello!’ and ‘Tutta casa, letto e chiesa’. Rame was an active member of ‘Soccorso Rosso’, a network that supported the imprisoned members of the extra-parliamentary left and their families.

Acting

Eleftheria Pantazi (woman)

Spyros Varfis (man)