Kahkahanın İsyanı: Darıo Fo Tiyatrosuna Karnavalesk Bir Yaklaşım

Dario Fo’s theatre does not merely present a narrative on stage; it constructs a political arena that exposes power

structures and grotesquely transforms the language and image of authority. In his theatrical universe, tradition-

al narrative forms are dismantled, the seriousness of the serious is subverted, and the stage becomes a “count-

er-space” where systems of oppression are made visible. Fo’s aesthetic language resonates with Mihail Bakhtin’s

concept of the “carnivalesque”: a realm in which social hierarchies are suspended, bodily boundaries are stretched,

and masks, exaggerated gestures, and bodily distortions dominate. This carnivalesque space is not merely one of

parody; it operates as a field of freedom where questioning, resistance, and imagination circulate freely.

In Fo’s major plays—such as Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!, and The Face of the Face-

less—the grotesque functions not merely as a stylistic choice but also as an ideological tool. Deformed characters,

distorted bodies, absurd spaces, and constantly shifting identities expose both the artificiality of social roles and

the discursive impositions of authority. In this sense, the grotesque is not merely in service of humor; it operates

as a strategy of destruction: it disrupts fixed meanings, distorts norms, and unsettles the audience’s perception.

Fo’s humor is far from simple entertainment or satire. It evokes not passive laughter but active interrogation, reshap-

ing how the audience positions itself. This transformation aims not only at individual awareness but at sparking a

collective leap in consciousness. Viewing the grotesque and carnivalesque through this lens allows for a deeper

understanding of the revolutionary potential of Fo’s theatre. His stage becomes not only a space of representation

but also one of resistance and opposition. This study explores how grotesque aesthetics and the carnivalesque

structure in Dario Fo’s theatre function as tools of political critique and resistance.