Dario Fo (; born 24 March 1926) is an
Italian actor-
playwright,
comedian,
singer,
theatre director,
stage designer,
songwriter,
painter and
political campaigner, and recipient of the 1997
Nobel Prize in Literature. "Arguably the most widely performed contemporary playwright in world theatre", much of his dramatic work depends on improvisation and comprises the recovery of "illegitimate" forms of theatre, such as those performed by
giullari (medieval strolling players) and, more famously, the ancient Italian style of
commedia dell'arte.