A Tribute to Franca Rame Part 1, November 25th 2013

When Franca Rame died on May 29, 2013 such was her renown as a stage performer, playwright, and left-wing activist that obituaries appeared in  newspapers throughout the world, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Times (London). A central force in cabaret theatre, the cooperative theatre movement, and feminist theatre in Italy, she authored works that were translated into many languages. She collaborated  closely with the actor-playwright Dario Fo throughout their almost sixty-year marriage. Fo called her his muse and openly asked her to share his 1997 Nobel Prize at the award ceremony in Stockholm.

This tribute includes short readings in English and videos selected from Rame’s many  feminist monologues, which include Lo stupro (The rape), in which she dramatized her 1973 kidnap and rape by Italian fascists; Una donna sola (A woman alone); and Tutta casa, letto e chiesa (It’s all housework, bed and church).  The evening included special tributes from Dario Fo and Marisa Tomei.

Joining a conversation about Rame is independent  scholar Dr. Jane House, cotranslator and coeditor of two volumes of Italian drama covering the period from 1900 to 2000, and Judith Malina, founder of The Living Theatre and an American contemporary of Rame.