Dario Fo, the Commune, and the Battle for the Palazzina Liberty

This article deals with a little-known aspect of the Nobel laureate’s activities: the squatting of an abandoned council building in Milan from 1974-81, where some of his best-known plays – such as Can’t Pay? Wont’t Pay! – were first performed. Using published material, archive sources, and oral interviews with both performers and members of the audience, this article describes how Fo’s theatrical collective – The Commune – secured control over the building through mass support, guided by a revolutionary ideology, in the face of fierce opposition from Milan council.. The influence of this political milieu over the political content of plays written and performed at the ‘Palazzina Liberty’ is also discussed.