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THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS
Introduction
Now let us move on to the miracle
of the Resurrection of Lazarus.
This piece was regarded as
the pièce de resistance among virtuoso jongleurs, because
in it the jongleur has to act out something like 15 different
characters in succession, and only indicates the character changes
with his body. He does not vary his voice at all; everything
is done by gesture. This kind of piece requires the performer
to play it a bit by ear, according to the responses of laughter,
silence, etc that he gets from the audience. In effect, it is
a basic framework which then gives a possibility for improvisation.
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The principle theme of this
piece is a satirisation of everything that passes for the 'moment
of mystery'. This is achieved by playing out an event which,
among the people, passes for a 'miracle'. The satire is aimed
at the miracle-mongers, the magicians, the conjurors' art of
the miraculous, which is an underlying feature of many religions,
including Catholicism. The piece deals with the way in which
miracles are presented as supernatural happenings, which must
have been performed by God. At the origins of these miracle stories,
the principal notion is that of God's love and sympathy for the
people, for mankind.
Here, though, the story of
the miracle is told from the standpoint of the people. The scene
is set as if it were a show about to be performed by a great
conjuror, a magician, somebody who is able to do extraordinary
and vastly entertaining things. Here there is no hint of the
religious content which is supposed to lie behind the miracle.
In a cartoon wall-painting
in Pisa cemetery, there is a portrayal of the Resurrection of
Lazarus. (A cartoon is the original sketch which precedes the
final stage of a fresco; in this case the fresco had been removed
for restoration, and the well-preserved cartoon was revealed).
"The resurrection
of Lazarus," drawing by Dario Fo,
based on a fresco in Pisa cemetery
Lazarus does not even figure
in the scene. One's attention is concentrated wholly on the crowd,
on the people--almost like a theatre audience struck with amazement.
Their gestures express their marvel at the miracle under way.
Within the picture, which is itself grotesque (almost as if theatre
and figurative representation were going hand in hand) there
is an added element of the grotesque. We find one of the characters
dipping his fingers into the purse of a spectator standing near
him. He is taking advantage of the miracle, of people's amazement
and sense of wonderment, in order to steal their money!
'Excuse me. Is this the graveyard,
the cemetery where they're going to perform the Resurrection
of Lazarus?'
'Yes, this is the one.'
'Ah, good.'
'One moment... That'll be ten
pence, to get in.'
'Ten pence?'
'Well, alright, let's make
it two.'
'Tuppence?! Why, in hell's
name?!'
'Because I am the guardian
of the cemetery, and all you people coming in here are going
to wreck the place. You'll ruin my hedges and trample my grass,
and I must be recompensed for all the trouble and damage that
you're going to cause. Two pence, or you won't see the miracle.'
'Alright! You don't miss a
chance, do you! There you go!'
'Two pence for you others as
well. And I don't care if you've got children... I don't care.
They're here for the show too, aren't they? Well, alright...
half a penny. Hey, you, wretch! Down off that wall! Cunning devil,
he wants to see the miracle for free! He should pay, no? Two
pence... No, no, you did not pay before. That'll be two pence
for you too, tuppence to get in...'
'Pretty crafty that one, making
money out of miracles. Anyway, now I'll have to find where Lazarus
is. His name must be on his tomb! The last time I came to see
a miracle here, I spent half a day waiting around, and then they
ended up doing the miracle right over the back there! And I had
to stand here like an idiot watching from a distance. But this
time I've taken the trouble to find out the fellow's name in
advance, and I'm going to look for it on the tomb. I'll be in
the front row this time! Lazarus... (Hunting around) And
I'll put myself... Lazarus... I'll put myself right next to the
tomb, and that way I'll see everything. Lazarus... But then even
if I do find the tomb with Lazarus written on it, I can't read,
so I won't know, will I! Still, I suppose I'll just have to guess.
I'll stand here. I didn't do so well last time, but let's hope
it goes better this time.'
'Who's that pushing? NO, don't
start pushing! I got here first, and I'm having the front position!
I don't care if you are only little! Little people should come
first thing in the morning and reserve themselves a position.
Pretty clever, eh? He's little, so he wants to get in front!
Supposing we were to stand in order of height? The little ones
in front, and the big ones behind! Then the little ones would
all turn up afterwards, and it would be as if they'd got here
first! Stop pushing, you're going to push me into the tomb! For
heaven's sake! I don't care. Get back. Eh? Oh! NOW the women
are pushing as well!'
'Hasn't he arrived yet? Isn't
it time for the miracle?'
'Isn't there someone here who
knows this Jesus Christ, who could go and get him to hurry up,
because we're all here, waiting? After all, you can't wait for
miracles for ever, eh?! They should set a timetable and stick
to it!'
'Chairs! Who wants chairs!
Chairs for hire, ladies! Two pence per chair! Make sure that
you've got a seat, ladies, because when the miracle happens and
the Holy Man brings Lazarus back to life, and he starts talking,
and singing, and moving around, then you'll get a fright; you'll
see his eyes glistening and gleaming, and you'll faint. You'll
finish up falling backwards and banging your heads on a rock,
and you'll end up dead! Dead! And this Holy Man only does one
miracle per day! Chairs for hire! Only two pence!'
'I see, you only think about
making money, do you, eh?'
'So, doesn't anybody want to...?'
'Don't push! I don't care...
!'
'Stop climbing up on the chairs!
Ah, pretty clever! Do you see that? The little fellow has climbed
up on a chair now!'
'And don't lean on me, because
I'm right on the edge of the grave, and--'
'Is he coming? Hasn't he arrived
yet?
'Sardines! Tasty sardines!
Tuppence a time! Very tasty! Freshly grilled! Lovely sardines!
Sardines to raise the dead! Two pence!'
(Calling him over) 'Sardines. . . give a couple to Lazarus,
to prepare his stomach!'
'Shut up, blasphemer!'
'Behave yourselves.'
'He's coming! He's coming!
Here he is!'
'Who is? Where?'
'Jesus!'
'Which one is he?' '
The dark one? Ugh! He looks
pretty mean!'
'No! That's Mark!'
'Is Jesus the one behind?'
'Which one, the tall one?'
'No, the little one.'
'The lad?'
'Yes, the one over there with
the little beard.'
'Oh, but he's only a young
lad, for goodness sake.'
'Look! The whole lot of them
are with him.'
'Oh, look, there's John! I
know that John... (Calling to him) John! Jesus! What a
nice fellow that Jesus is!'
'Oh! Look! The Madonna's there
too! There's his whole family. But does he always go round with
all these people? Hey...!'
'Well, they won't let him go
around on his own, on account that he's a bit crazy!'
(Calling to him) 'Jesus?! What a nice fellow. He winked
at me.'
'Jesus! Jesus! Do us the miracle
of the loaves and the fishes like you did last time. They were
really good!'
'Shut up! Blasphemer, behave
yourself!'
'Silence! Get down on your
knees. He's made a sign for everyone to go down on their knees,
because we have to pray.'
'Where's the tomb?'
'Eh? It's that one over there.'
'Oh, look! He's told them to
lift off the tomb cover.'
'Ooooh... !'
'Shut up!'
'On your knees, on your knees.
Come on, everyone down on your knees!'
'No, not me! I'm not going
down on my knees, because I don't believe, I'm not a believer.'
'Oh, look at that!'
'Shut up!'
'Let me see.' 'No! Get down
from there, down off that chair.'
'No! Let me get up there, because
I want to see!'
'For goodness sake! Look! They've
lifted the tombstone, and there's the corpse inside. There he
is, it's Lazarus, and what a stink! What is that vile smell?'
'Good heavens!'
'What is it?'
'Shut up!'
'Let me look!'
'He's full of worms, and what
a stink! Goodness! He must have been dead for at least a month,
and he's all coming apart. Oh, what a rotten corpse they've landed
him with! What a lousy trick! I'm sure he's not going to be able
to manage it this time, poor devil!'
'There's no way he can do it,
never! Impossible for anyone to bring that back to life. He's
all gone rotten! What a joke!
Lousy bums! They told him that
the man had only been dead for three days! It must be a month
at least! What a sight! Poor Jesus!'
'I say he can still do it,
though! This man is a holy man, and he can do the miracle even
when the body has been rotting for a month!'
'I say that he can't do it!'
'Do you want to bet?'
'OK, let's have a bet!'
'Right! Two pence! Three pence!
Ten pence! What do you want to bet?'
'Shall I keep the money? Trust
me! Here we all trust each other, don't we? Alright, I'll look
after the money!'
'Behave yourselves! Now, pay
attention! Everyone on your knees, and silence!'
'What's he doing?'
'He's beginning to pray.'
'Quiet, eh!'
'Hey there, Lazarus, rise up!'
'Ha, ha, you might as well
tell him to come out and sing as well, because the only things
that are going to come out are the worms that are in him! Rise
up, indeed!?'
'Quiet! Look, he's risen up
onto one knee!'
'Who? Jesus?'
'No! Lazarus! Heavens look!'
'Nooo! It's impossibie!'
'Let me see.'
'Oh, look! He's moving, he's
moving, he's on his feet, come on! Oh, he's fallen! Now he's
moving again, he's on his feet.'
'A miracle! Oh, a miracle.
Oh Jesus, sweet creature that you are, and to think that I didn't
believe in you!'
'Well done, Jesus!'
'I've won the bet. Let's have
the money. Hey, don't mess about. . .'
'Well done, Jesus!'
'My purse! They've stolen my
purse! Stop, thief!'
'Jesus, well done!'
'Stop, thief!'
'Well done, Jesus! Well done,
Jesus!'
'Stop, thief!'
Mistero Buffo translated by Ed Emery in Dario
Fo Plays 1. Methuen Drama, London. 1992
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aggiornamento 12.10.2002
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