The Syndicate (Modern Plays)

The Syndicate, or Il Sindaco Del Rione Sanità, is a witty dark comedy set in 1960s Naples. This new translation by Mike Poulton portrays De Filippo's classic combination of pathos with farce in a newly accessible and contemporary version.

Honest young Antonio Barracano stabs a brutal night-watchman to death. With the help of a 'Godfather' he is smuggled out of Naples to hide in New York. Convicted of the murder in his absence but safe overseas, he quickly acquires wealth and a reputation for ruthlessness.

Returning to Naples, he uses his new status to quash his conviction and is soon feared but respected throughout the city, making it his life's work to provide a form of rough justice for the criminals of Naples who have no other access to law.

He rules the Naples underbelly with a rod of iron but when a respectable but poor young man decides to murder his father and comes to Don Antonio for advice, the Neapolitan 'Godfather' emerges from the shadows to make the young man's father an offer he can't refuse

The comedy grows blacker as 'respectable' Naples collides with its criminal underworld.