Satirist Dario Fo sued

A scene from The Two-headed An The Two-headed Anomaly Dario Fo

Nobel Prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo has been sued for defaming Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in his new satire The Two-headed Anomaly . Marcello Dell'Utri, a senator in Berlusconi's party Forza Italia, is demanding 1 million (Rs 5.7 crore) as "personal, unfounded attacks".

In the play, 77-year-old Fo and and his wife Franca Rame play the prime minister and his wife. Fo is a puppet-like, short, fat character, gesticulating and pouring out his troubles to his wife. His friend Vladimir Putin comes to stay, and both are shot at by Chechen rebels. Putin dies, Berlusconi barely survives. To save him, part of Putin's brain is transplanted into Berlusconi's, turning him into a confused, vodka-sloshing half-Russian.

Throughout, Berlusconi is attacked for passing laws to his own personal advantage, running a media monopoly and censoring criticism of his government. "We are tired," said Fo, responding to the suit. "But we felt we could not sit by and watch what is happening in Italy." Fo plans to transmit his show -- first performed on December 5, 2003 -- live on giant screens to theatres across the country. Dell'Utri's lawyers have also contacted Sky Italia television to dissuade it from broadcasting the play later this year.