We need a surreal fantasist like Beppe Grillo to rescue Italy, says Nobel-winning playwright Dario Fo

 

 For Fo, the key to understanding Grillo is not in 21st-century Italy but in the 13th century, when storytellers – giullari – roamed Italy, entertaining crowds in piazzas with lewd and ancient tales interwoven with satirical attacks on local potentates.

The real trap for Grillo, warns Fo, is being beguiled by flattery. Turning again to history, he cites Cola Di Rienzo, the charismatic son of a tavern owner in the 14th century who wooed Romans with his oratory and became the city's leader, setting his sights high and ousting corrupt noble families, only to see his support slip away before he was murdered by a mob as he sought to flee in disguise.

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We need a surreal fantasist like Beppe Grillo to rescue Italy, says Nobel-winning playwright Dario Fo | World news | The Observer: