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In this article, we seek to modify the view that Fo is the driving force behind the theatrical production of the various incarnations of the Compagnia Fo–Rame. We review certain theoretical aspects of authorship, emphasising it as an intrinsically collaborative process. In particular, we want to move away from the dichotomy that sees Fo as the solitary writer-actor-genius, and Rame as the ancillary manager and editor of 'his' works. Not only is the reality far more complex, but those roles are in fact creative authorial functions inside a collaborative practice. Why has this not been done before? In part because of a cultural practice that puts the individual (male) and his 'genius' at the centre, and in part because of a strong narrative put forward by Fo and Rame themselves, never truly questioned by scholars; as a consequence, Rame's contribution has been either side-lined, or reclaimed in problematic ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses L'operaio conosce 300 parole, il padrone 1000, per questo lui è il padrone (1969), one of the first plays produced by the couple Dario Fo and Franca Rame after their rupture with the mainstream bourgeois theatrical circuit. Through a close reading of one section of the play – the monologue 'Michele lu Lanzone' – we trace the beginnings of a process of re-negotiation of Rame's role within their professional relationship. We argue that the monologue both represents and plays out a series of tensions around ideological, artistic and gender issues, thus 'othering' the female protagonist from the rest of the piece and its didactic message. We also show how the complex intersections of discourses and agendas that constitute the tension within L'operaio are in fact the ongoing context in which Rame will 'find her own voice', gaining independence without ever abandoning the partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]