Fo's most popular play is Mistero buffo, which means “The Comedic Mystery.” It features the comedic antics of a jester in the medieval tradition of the “jongleurs,” traveling entertainers whose performances flouted the authority of church and state. It has been seen by millions of Italians and shows Fo's grounding in popular storytelling traditions. This one-man show satirizing landowners, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Italian government was first performed by Fo in 1969.

The Complete Plays of Vladimir Mayakovsky, translated by Guy Daniels, contains Mayakovsky's Mystery-Bouffe (1918), an inspiration for Fo's own Mistero buffo. Mayakovsky, a Russian writer who engaged in subversive socialist political activities, was one of Fo's many influences, thanks to his revolutionary zeal on the part of Russia's then-disenfranchised peasants and lower classes.

The Uncle Remus tales first published by Joel Chandler Harris in book form in 1880 were...