Abstract

The Italian playwright and performer Dario Fo (b. 1926) is one of the most important figures in contemporary world theatre. His career began in the early 1950s and spans over half a century. By the 1980s some were proclaiming him the most widely performed living playwright in the world. In 1997 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, which further advanced his popularity and influence. To date, he is still active as a writer, a performer, and a visual artist. His plays, translated into many languages, are still widely performed today and his influence continues into the new century.