| Archangels Don't Play Pinball | |
| Orig Lang: | Italian |
Archangels Don't Play Pinball (Italian title: Gli arcangeli non giocano al flipper)[1] is a 1959 two-act play by Dario Fo. The play uses the metaphor of a pinball machine - a new innovation in Italy at the time and one which Fo and his wife Franca Rame were fond of - to convey mechanisation and conspicuous consumption.
A group of young Milanese men play a prank on one of their group - "Lofty". They arrange for a fake marriage to take place between Lofty and a prostitute who pretends to be a beautiful Albanian princess. Lofty has a problem - he needs to get identity papers from the Ministry. The only way he can do this is to become a dog. He is taken into a local kennel, where he is eventually bought by a circus owner. After various further adventures, Lofty eventually awakes, only to find that it has all been a dream with the lovely lady there with him. Archangels don't play pinball with people's lives.[2]
The play is also noted for its use of song. One example is "Stringimi forte i polsi" (Hold my wrists tightly together) which the protagonist Il Lungo (Stretch) sings to an "Albanian" prostitute whose wrists he is bound to.[3] It would later be the theme tune to the TV programme Canzonissima which the playwright, Dario Fo, makes a controversial appearance on.[4]
Ed Emery has carried out an authorised English translation.[5]