CFP: Recent European (Re)translations of Shakespeare

This just came round on the Translatio mailing list and looks like an interesting seminar:

Call for Papers: Recent European (Re)translations of Shakespeare

(a seminar at the ESRA conference, 2015, Worcester)

Conveners: Lily Kahn (UCL),  l.kahn@ucl.ac.uk

                     Márta Minier (University of South Wales), marta.minier@southwales.ac.uk

                     Martin Regal (University of Iceland), martinregal@gmail.com

The longevity of Shakespearean translations is generally somewhat limited. Although some canonical translations have a relatively long life as literary works and/or in the theatre, it is common for Shakespeare to be retranslated periodically. Within Europe there is a widespread phenomenon of systematic series of (re)translations of Shakespeare’s complete works; in recent years this trend has given rise to the WSOY Finnish Complete Works, completed in 2013, the new Polish Complete Works, the New Romanian Shakespeare series, and others. In addition, specially commissioned individual retranslations designed for specific productions are a common feature of the European theatrical scene. Examination of the rich variety of issues surrounding this phenomenon of retranslation in the European context can provide valuable insights into the theory and practice of Shakespearean interpretation.

This proposed seminar will bring together scholars, editors and practising translators engaged in the production and analysis of Shakespearean translations. It will also be open to dramaturges or directors who would like to comment on working with new or revised (that is, dramaturgically adjusted) translations. Proposals will be welcomed on topics including but not limited to the following:

·         factors galvanising the decision to produce new translations, including philological and interpretive shifts, changing conventions of theatre, and the emergence of new performance and directorial styles;

·         the collaborative framework behind commissioned translations and the relationship between the translator and other stakeholders;

·         societal perceptions of the modern Shakespeare translator; trends in the selection of different translation strategies (e.g. foreignising vs. domesticating);

·         comparisons between alternative translations of the ‘same’ play (both synchronically and diachronically);

·         different translations of a single play by the same translator; the use of updated and otherwise modified versions of existing translations in new productions instead of commissioning completely original work;

·         the critical reception of new translations both in textual format and in theatrical contexts.

We will consider papers focusing on academic translation series not necessarily intended for performance in addition to those specifically commissioned or designed for theatrical use that may not be as suitable for employment in educational contexts.

Please submit an abstract (200-300 words) and a brief biography (150 words) by 1 December  2014 to all seminar conveners. 

All participants will be notified about the acceptance of their proposals by 1 March 2015. 

The deadline for submitting the completed seminar papers (3,000 words) is 1 May 2015.

Theatre in translation in Bristol, autumn 2014

I noticed a poster for the Theatre Royal in Bath the other day announcing a positive plethora of plays in translation coming to the theatre this autumn.  

One Man, Two Guvnors, an adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's 1743 play Il servo di due padroni, and adapted by Richard Bean, runs 8-20 September. Richard Bean is also the adapter of The Hypochondriac, from Molière's Malade Imaginaire, which opens 8 October.

The Ustinov Studio is putting on a season of black comedies: Dürrenmatt's Play Strindberg (which is in turn an adaptation of Strindberg's Dödsdansen), in a new translation by Alistair Beaton (11 September-11 October); The Father, a version of Le Père by Florian Zeller, which won a bunch of Molière awards in France this year, translated by Christopher Hampton (16 October-15 November); and Exit the King, a new translation by Jeremy Sams of Eugène Ionesco's Le roi se meurt (20 November-20 December).

Closer to home, the Tobacco Factory Theatres are putting on Strawberry and Chocolate. The production is oddly described as 'the UK première of the Oscar-nominated Strawberry and Chocolate' - presumably, what is meant is 'the UK première of a new stage adaptation of the Oscar-nominated Strawberry and Chocolate'...? Runs 2-13 September. It sounds great, though I'd be interested to see how much it owes to the translations which preceded it: there are published English translations of the screenplay for Fresa y chocolate and the Senel Paz short story on which it is based, both by Peter Bush; and there are at least two subtitled English versions extant. (Dissertation project, anyone?).

Crowdfunding translations

I've been an admirer of crowdfunding, specifically Kickstarter, for the last couple of years. For readers who don't know Kickstarter, it's a US-based website where creators and entrepreneurs pitch ideas for projects, which readers then then decide whether or not to fund, in exchange for various kinds of material or immaterial rewards. It's been in the news in recent years for the large sums which some projects have raised and for the fact that very well-known figures like Spike Lee and Hal Hartley (twice) have funded projects on the site. There are other sites too like indiegogo and the Irish site fundit. (There seem to be intriguing differences in success rates - 75% on fundit, 43% on Kickstarter, reportedly 9.3% on indiegogo.)

I was originally a bit surprised by how few translation projects there were on Kickstarter, but that has changed. There are recent or current pitches for a translation of Christopher Okigbo's poetry into Spanish; the translation into English of a French graphic novel series by Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten, a games localisation project; a translation into English of the children's book Cuentos de la Selva by the Uruguayan writer Horacio Quiroga; the translation into Spanish of an Oxford University Press book about the Costa Rican cloud forest; and the translation into Vietnamese of a textbook on molecular biology, among others.

Words Without Borders have run no less than three successful funding campaigns on Kickstarter, one for a special issue translating Afghan writers in 2011, one to support a special issue on the Mexican drug war in 2012, and one to support Eduardo Halfón's The Polish Boxer later the same year.

Other crowdfunding platforms also had interesting translation projects like this translation by Artur Zapalowski of Foreign Bodies based on a script by the Polish playwright Julia Holewinska, produced at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin in summer 2013; a bilingual Irish and English adaptation of Collodi's Pinocchio staged at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin in 2012; and a 2013 translation workshop in Toronto to finalise and present a French version by Nadine Desrochers of Heather Hermant's performance piece ribcage: this wide passage about 18th-century cross-dresser Esther Brandeau/Jacques La Fargue, "said to be the first Jewish person to set foot in what is now known as Canada". 

This is encouraging and it would be good to see more of it. 

There are lots of posts out there recommending how to put together a pitch (e.g. this one for fundit). I'm just an onlooker, but as someone who has translated and (once or twice) been translated, and someone who participates in a minnow-like capacity in sites like Kickstarter, here are some things I really like to see in translation project pitches.

I like projects that:

1) Tell readers where the money is going. What funding has been raised so far, from where, and for what exactly; what elements of the project remain to be funded.

2) Show that they have a sense of how translation works, by securing someone(s) with a track record to carry out the translation, specifying the size of the project (how many thousand words are involved?), providing a brief translation sample, showing an awareness of the challenges posed by the text, giving convincing costings. This last one is difficult, admittedly, because a lot of people aren't necessarily aware of the cost of professional translation (i.e. the time and expertise of a qualified person translating 2000-3000 words a day). Pro bono translation seems very often to be part of the mix, and is arguably better than translation at a rate which undercuts professional translators.

3) Give a compelling rationale for why the translation needs to be done (especially important if it's a text that has been translated into that language already).

4) Have a plan for disseminating the translation as widely as possible, e.g. on the web (though I am also very sympathetic to live performances and to beautiful book-objects).

5) Edit, polish and proofread their pitch very, very carefully. Maybe it's because I'm a part-time academic editor, but I really notice sloppy presentation and it puts me off. Most translation projects have a publication element, and if the pitch isn't executed to a professional standard, it doesn't help to convince potential supporters that the translation will be.

STAIRCASE THOUGHT: 6) Have all the copyright stuff sorted. V. imp.

Good luck to anyone pitching translation projects to crowdfunders in 2014!

Theatre Translation Forum 2014, London

Just got a reminder about these continuing seminars and workshops on theatre translation which look very interesting:

The UCL Theatre Translation Forum returns in 2014 with five seminars and workshops exploring interdisciplinary themes in drama/theatre translation research and practice. Places limited: early registration recommended.

·         14 January: Workshop of Caroline Bird’s version of The Trojan Women led by Christopher Haydon.
·         28 January: Contemporary Drama seminar with Emma Cole on Sarah Kane’s Phaedra’s Love, Tom Wilks on Wilhelm Genazino, Marta Niccolai on Dario Fo, with David Johnston as guest speaker.
·         11 February: Workshop on Contemporary Drama in translation organized by the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill.
·         4 March: Modernism seminar with Enza De Francisci on Pirandello, Mairéad Hanrahan on Genet, Gareth Wood on Lorca, with Kate Eaton as guest speaker.
·         18 March: Workshop on Kate Eaton’s translations of Piñera led by Gráinne Byrne.

Further details and registration are available on the Theatre Translation Forum website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/translation-studies/theatre-translation-forum

The series is funded by the UCL Faculty of Arts & Humanities and run in partnership with the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill. Please contact the convenors, Geraldine Brodie, g.brodie at ucl.ac.uk, and Emma Cole, e.cole.11 at ucl.ac.uk, for additional information.

Conference call for papers: Invisible Presences, April 2011

So many lovely conferences, so little time...  D:

Invisible Presences: Translation, Dramaturgy, and Performance
Queen's University Belfast/ Out of the Wings
Contact: k.taroff at qub.ac.uk

‘Invisible Presences’ is presented under the aegis of Out of the Wings, an AHRC-funded project exploring Spanish theatre in English translation, in association with the Melbourne Dramaturgies Project, the Translation, Adaptation, and Dramaturgy Working Group of the International Federation for Theatre Research, and the Dramaturgs’ Network

Drama and Film Centre
Queen’s University Belfast
18-20 April 2011.

This international conference will explore the dramaturgical processes of translation in performance practice, whether across language and culture or the translation of ideas into material production. Rather than seeing the processes of writing (whether collaborative or single-authored), translation, rehearsal, production, and audience reception as separate and discrete, the conference will engage approaches that view the process as more of a continuum, one that is perpetually at work. In this way the conference offers the opportunity for dialogue between contemporary practitioners, both translators and theatre makers, and for new insights into dramaturgy and translation that seek to map the growing convergence between theatre practice and translation.

Areas for discussion include, but are not limited to:

● Translation and its metaphorical apprehension of text
● Translation and its audiences
● Translation and the contingency of performance
● Collaborative translation processes
● The limits of translation
● Dramaturgy as translation/ translational process
● Visual theatre: dramaturgies and translations of light, sound, space
● Technology: new relationships with audiences in online productions
● The dramaturgical process in different contexts: Case studies from practitioners and scholars exploring the issues and particularities of each context, such as community arts, theatre for young people, cross-art collaboration processes and facilitation, ‘postdramatic’ dramaturgies, queer dramaturgies, disability arts, collaborative writing processes, etc.

The conference will feature:

● A range of eminent keynote speakers, including Mary Luckhurst, Lawrence Venuti, Peter Eckersall and Paul Monaghan.
● Practical workshops exploring issues of dramaturgy and translation
● Performances
● Panel sessions
● Round table discussions

Proposals addressing the themes of the conference are invited in the forms of:

20 minute paper presentation
2-hour workshop

Please submit proposals of 300-500 words, with 150-word biography, by 30 September 2010, to the organisers:
Alyson Campbell: a.e.campbell at qub.ac.uk
David Johnston: d.johnston at qub.ac.uk
Kurt Taroff: k.taroff at qub.ac.uk

Call for papers: "Invisible Presences: Translation, Dramaturgy and Performance"

A good-looking conference coming up on drama translation:

Call for papers: "Invisible Presences: Translation, Dramaturgy and Performance"
Drama and Film Centre, Queen’s University Belfast
18-20 April 2011

‘Invisible Presences’ is presented under the aegis of Out of the Wings,
an AHRC-funded project exploring Spanish theatre in English translation,
in association with the Dramaturgies Project, and the Translation,
Adaptation, and Dramaturgy Working Group of the International Federation
for Theatre Research.

This international conference will explore the dramaturgical processes
of translation in performance practice, whether across language and
culture or the translation of ideas into material production. Rather
than seeing the processes of writing (whether collaborative or
singleauthored), translation, rehearsal, production, and audience
reception as separate and discrete, the conference will engage with
approaches that view the process as more of a continuum, one that is
perpetually at work. In this way the conference offers the opportunity
for dialogue between contemporary practitioners, both translators and
theatre makers, and for new insights into dramaturgy and translation
that seek to map the growing convergence between theatre practice and
translation.

The conference will feature:
-A range of eminent keynote speakers
-Practical workshops exploring issues of dramaturgy and translation
-Performances
-Panel sessions
-Round table discussions

Areas for discussion include, but are not limited to:
-Translation and its metaphorical apprehension of text
-Translation and its audiences
-Translation and the contingency of performance -
-Collaborative translation processes
-The limits of translation
-Translation and ethics
-Dramaturgy as translation/ translational process
-Visual theatre: dramaturgies and translations of light, sound, space
-Technology: new relationships with audiences in online productions
-The dramaturgical process in different contexts: Case studies from
practitioners and scholars exploring the issues and particularities of
each context, such as community arts, theatre for young people,
cross-art collaboration processes and facilitation, ‘postdramatic’
dramaturgies, queer dramaturgies, disability arts, collaborative writing
processes, etc.

Proposals addressing the themes of the conference are invited in the
forms of: 20-minute paper presentation; 2-hour workshop. Please submit
proposals of 300-500 words, with 150-word biography, by 30 September
2010, to the organisers:
Alyson Campbell: a.e.campbell at qub.ac.uk
David Johnston: d.johnston at qub.ac.uk
Kurt Taroff: k.taroff at qub.ac.uk

For more information, please contact David Johnston at d.johnston at qub.ac.uk

postgraduate theatre conference, London, Saturday 20 March

This looks interesting, for those of you in the London area:

*Theatre Translation as Collaboration: Re-routing Text through Performance*
Arts Building, Queen Mary, University of London
Saturday, 20 March, 2010

Keynote speakers: Professor J. Michael Walton and playwright Colin Teevan

Round table chaired by critic Aleks Sierz, featuring playwright Martin
Crimp and theatre practitioners tba

Afternoon workshop led by Gráinne Byrne of Scarlet Theatre

The aim of this one-day graduate colloquium is to explore the
collaborative creative processes involved in the re-routing of text from
page to stage: what happens when a text is translated for performance? We
will examine the act of theatre translation in all its multiple
variations, including versions, adaptations and inter-semiotic transfers
(for example from film or book to stage). How does research engage with
the collaborative nature of translating for performance? We hope to expand
and facilitate the dialogue between theatre practitioners and academics,
illuminating the practice/theory debate.

Graduate students currently working in Theatre (including dance and
design), Translation, Performance or Language Studies, or related areas
are very welcome to attend.

Registration fee: £10. Please register by 5 March 2010

For further details and registration, visit:
www.drama.qmul.ac.uk/events/23777.html

All enquiries to translation-colloquium@qmul.ac.uk

Organising Committee
Geraldine Brodie Kate Eaton
Margherita Laera Tiffany Watt-Smith

Graduate Colloquium funded by:
The Arts and Humanities Research Council and
The Graduate School in Humanities and Social Sciences,
Queen Mary, University of London

translating for the stage

I thought it might be nice to put together a quick summary and a few links about theatre translation, for my own amusement and maybe other people's too.

Translation for the stage is unlike any other form of literary translation, because of the dimension of performance. Translations for the stage are recreated with each new production and even with each new performance. When translating a play, it’s crucial to know what the purpose of the translation is. There is a big difference between translation for performance and translation for publication. Translations for publication are intended to be read, rather than performed, so you might well find footnotes in a reading translation of a play – but you can’t have footnotes on stage, so jokes, puns, cultural references and wordplay must be recreated in a way which works for the new audience. Performable translations must also be ‘speakable’ by the actors, and may be adapted by director and actors in the rehearsal process.

Like other forms of literary translation, translation for the stage is a niche specialisation. One of the more remarkable traditions in British theatre today is the use of ‘literal’ translations to support ‘new versions’ by well-known writers. A translator is commissioned to provide a close translation of the text with supporting documentation, which is then used by the writer to develop his or her ‘own’ version of the text. This is the case, for instance, with many newly commissioned translations of Russian plays. Literal translators are usually poorly paid and unrecognised for their work, though some reward may be found in the opportunity to work with big names in the theatre world. In an ideal scenario, the translator, the director and the actors work closely together in rehearsal but in the 'real world' this often doesn't happen.

There’s a good article about translation of classical French comedy for the British stage here. You might also like to read this interesting panel discussion organised by the National Theatre a few years ago.

A play that’s been retranslated for the stage several times is Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Compare this scene from a 2006 Comédie Française production:



with the same scene from Derek Jacobi’s 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play (this is from the TV version so is a bit like cheating). Jacobi uses a newly commissioned translation by Anthony Burgess, though he could, in theory, have used any one of a number of existing translations. The Gertrude Hall translation, which appeared in 1898, might be a bit old-fashioned, but the 1923 version by the American translator Brian Hooker was a big success in its day. The 1972 Lowell Bair translation is for publication rather than for performance, but Jacobi might well have chosen the Christopher Fry translation from 1975, which I saw revived earlier this year at Chichester with Joseph Fiennes in the title role, and thoroughly enjoyable it was too! Of course, in 1985 Jacobi didn’t have access to Edwin Morgan’s 1992 Scots version of Cyrano, Ranjit Bolt and Jatinda Verma’s Indian adaptation, or Irish poet Derek Mahon’s 2004 version (which received rather mixed reviews, like this one. This is how Jacobi imagines the scene:



(Anyone who follows this blog regularly may recognise this scene from a previous post which included a clip of the same scene, subtitled in English, from Rappeneau’s 1990 film of the play.)

A specialised type of translating for the stage is surtitling, or the writing of short titles to translate dialogue or song lyrics. These titles may be displayed on a screen over or beside the stage, or in a little airline-style screen on the back of the seat in front – there are some images here of what it looks like. Surtitling is now fairly common for performances of opera in the original languages, and is also used for stage musicals. There’s a long interview with Jonathan Burton and Judi Palmer of the Royal Opera House here (it’s a big file so it might take a while to download).

Of course, it’s also possible to make ‘singable’ translations of opera, musicals and songs, though it’s extremely challenging. Here’s an aria from Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare, originally written in Italian:



and the same aria sung in English (this also gives a good picture of how different stage productions of the same ‘work’ can vary):



On a cheesier note, here’s a well-known song from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar:



and the same song in Italian (sorry I couldn’t find performance footage for this):



There are several good academic books out there on translating for the stage, of which one of the most accessible and interesting is David Johnston’s (alas, apparently out of print) Stages of Translation: Translators on Translating for the Stage.

theatre translation talk, City University, London

Received from City University, London today:

We'd be delighted to see translators, and those interested in the field of translation, at our forthcoming public lecture on Wednesday 1 July 2009, 6.30pm.

In the lecture, titled "All the World's a Stage: translation for the theatre", translator and actor William Gregory will cover some of the specific challenges faced by the translator when translating theatre texts.

These include the highly collaborative nature of theatre, the many purposes for which translation of plays are commissioned, the problem of 'performability' and the polemic over so-called 'literal' translations.

William will also talk briefly about the theatre translation industry in the UK today and encourage translators who think theatre may not be a field for them to see it as an area worth exploring.

Find out more and book a place online at http://www.city.ac.uk/whatson/2009/7_jul/01072009_translation.html

Centre for Language Studies
City University London