The play, which will be presented at 8 tonight, tomorrow night and Saturday night in the SIUC Laboratory Theater, was written by Dario Fo and adapted by Richard Nelson.

The play pokes fun at police corruption and bureaucracy. It is a comedy with some very serious undertones, Joe Chimwenje, the play’s director, said.

My vision is to strike a balance between the seriousness and the comedy of the play, he said. Many directors have succumbed to the comedy of the play at the expense of the tragic undertones, and when they do that, the play loses something. I want to emphasize the theme, which to me is police brutality.

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In the play, a Maniac (Patrick Higgs) pretends to be an official police investigator bent on finding out information about the death of a radical anarchist who may have been pushed out of a window by police officers.

This play has many messages, Higgs said. One lesson is that our government is not as screwed up as we think it is.

The police in the story are the comedy, John LaFlamboy, who plays The Inspector, said.

We wanted to play up some of the slapstick, but Joe made us take it seriously, he said. The play is a drama, but we have to let the comedy happen. As policemen in the play, the comedy is acting on us.

The play, which premiered in 1970, has been translated into several different languages. It is set in Italy, but it could take place in any nation, Chimwenje said.

Although it was written in the ’70s, the play is boundless and timeless, he said. The events in the play are things that do take place. When I first read the play, it reminded of my own country, and my country is a long way from Italy.

Chimwenje, a Fulbright Scholar from Malawi, is a graduate student seeking a Masters of Fine Arts degree. The show is his graduate qualifier and was suggested to him by one of his professors, he said.

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The show is also the graduate qualifier for Tracy Fitch, the lighting designer, and Kevin Taylor, the scenic designer.

Taylor said he was pleased with the result of the set, which was made with 16-foot flats and columns stretching to the ceiling.

This set is probably the biggest set ever built in the Laboratory Theater, he said

The actors in the show are impressed with the technical abilities of the tech-crew, Ben Kramer, who plays The Officer, said.

The technical people have been magnificent, he said. They have all worked very hard, sometimes late into the evening.

The play hits close to home for the director, and the performance may provide some insight into the policies of this government and others around the world, Chimwenje said.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist will be performed in the SIUC Laboratory Theater (rm. 1045) at 8 p.m. Feb. 15-17 in the Communications Building. Admission is $3.