’ MUSSOLINI S THEATRE BenitoMussolinihaspersistentlybeendescribedasan“actor”–and also as a master of illusions. In her vividly narrated account of the Italian dictator’s relationship with the theatre, Patricia Gaborik dis- cardsanymetaphoricalnotionsofIlDuceasaperformerandinstead tellsthestoryofhislifeasliteralspectator,critic,impresario,drama- tist and censor of the stage. Discussing the ways in which the autarch’s personal tastes and convictions shaped, in fascist Italy, theatrical programming, she explores Mussolini’s most significant dramatic influences, his association with important figures such as Luigi Pirandello, Gabriele D’Annunzio and George Bernard Shaw, his oversight of stage censorship, and his forays into playwriting. By focusingonitssubject’smanoeuvresinthetheatre,andmanipulation oftheatricalideas,thisconsistentlyilluminatingbooktransformsour understandings of fascism as a whole. It will have strong appeal to readers in both theatre studies and modern Italian history.   teachesattheUniversityofCalabriaandhasbeen fellow of the American Academy in Rome (FAAR ’). She has been visitingscholaratStanford,UCLA,andColumbiaUniversity.Sheisthe editor-translator of Massimo Bontempelli’s Watching the Moon and OtherPlays()andeditoroftheforthcomingPirandelloinContext. ’ MUSSOLINI S THEATRE Fascist Experiments in Art and Politics PATRICIA GABORIK UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom OneLibertyPlaza,thFloor,NewYork,,USA WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,,Australia –,rdFloor,Plot,SplendorForum,JasolaDistrictCentre,NewDelhi–,India AnsonRoad,#-/,Singapore CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/ :./ ©PatriciaGaborik Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyTJBooksLimited,PadstowCornwall AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. ----Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy ofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. For Edward Muir, whose lectures on Galileo and Garibaldi led me to Rome One who regards as trifling the question what kind of music a statesmanloveshasfailedtounderstandtheartofmentalanalysis,for in truth such matters exert a decisive influence upon action. – Emil Ludwig, Talks with Mussolini Contents List of Figures page viii List of Tables ix Acknowledgments x List of Fascist Organizations and Offices, Acronyms, and Titles xiii Introduction  DramatisPersonae   Mussolini the Critic   Mussolini the Impresario, I. Fascism and the Art Theatre   Mussolini the Dramatist   Mussolini the Censor   Mussolini the Impresario, II. Fascism and the Theatre for Masses  Epilogue  Reference Matter  Notes  Index  vii Figures . Il Becco Giallo cartoon: Mussolini’s “ongoing show,”  page  . Photo postcard of Gabriele D’Annunzio and Mussolini, Gardone,   . Bernard Shaw imitates Mussolini in a  film  . Breaking the fourth wall: Fritz Lang’s Mabuse the Gambler,   . Il Becco Giallo cartoon: “P. Randello’s Art Theatre is really diverting,”   . A “Carro di Tespi” opera stage, Littoria (today Latina),   . The map of the world, Cesare, act ,   . Villafranca on the cover of Comoedia, February   . Mussolini/Forzano productions in Germanic territories, –  . The theatre censor, Leopoldo Zurlo, under Mussolini’s watchful gaze,   . Ichikawa Sadanji as Mussolini,   . Open-air performances: festivals and special events  . OND-sponsored shows  . Thespian Truck tours,   . Laborers heading to a Theatrical Saturday performance, Rome   . The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts students fencing, Rome   . Principal Teatri-GUF locations,   . Ajax, the Greek Theatre at Siracusa,   . Mussolini at Oedipus Rex, Sabratha   . Mussolini speaks at the Milan Lyric Theatre, December ,   viii Tables . Pirandello’s Teatro d’Arte repertoire: source texts by author nationality  . Bragaglia’s Teatro degli Indipendenti Repertoire: source texts by author nationality  . Bragaglia’s repertoires: source texts by composition date  . Yearly breakdown of the Mussolini/Forzano play performances in Germanic territories, –  . Location, years, and numbers of the Mussolini/Forzano play performances in Germanic territories, –  . Foreign play productions, by author nationality,   . Foreign play productions, by author nationality,   . Censorship action, Ministry of the Interior vs. Ministry of Popular Culture  . Censorship decisions by genre  . Academy recitals academic years /–/: source texts by composition date  . Academy recitals academic years /–/: source texts by author nationality  . Comparative repertoires, Italian vs. foreign authorship  . Comparative repertoires, pre-twentieth-century vs. twentieth-century authorship  ix