Translating Golden Age drama brings up many questions of interpretation, form and meaning; but whether to translate the comedia in rhyming verse or not is still a heated debate. One translator, Gregary Racz, believes strongly that the comedia should be translated in verse, a view which has also been taken by Philip Osment in his rhyming, metrical Pedro the Great Pretender for the RSC’s Spanish Golden Age season, and by Victor Dixon in both his translations and his scholarship. Some translators, such as David Johnston, invent their own forms, keeping a regular metre but rhyming only in selected passages, such as sonnets. I invite your comments and views, readers; here is an article by Racz to get the conversation started (see p. 4-6 of this issue of ‘The Gotham Translator’).

The Case Against Preserving Meter and Rhyme in Poetic Translation: Theory or Practice?

The London theatre company Metta Theatre is proud to present an immersive production of Lorca’s Bodas de sangre (‘Blood Wedding)’ in English translation, performed at the Southwark Playhouse this summer, 21 July- 15 August 2009.

For further details see the production website.

We have now finalised the programme for our February symposium, aimed at theatre practitioners and researchers with an interest in the performance of translated plays.  We will be looking at translation as part of the collaborative process of stagecraft, focusing on practical solutions to practical problems. The timetable will ensure that participants have ample opportunity to raise issues and share their experiences.

Details of the full programme can be found here: london-symposium-programme-feb-09

Read on for more details… (more…)

NPR interviews three translators, providing an insight into the particular challenges faced by the translator of drama and poetry. From the interview:

Bea Basso, who came from Italy to the United States in 2000 to study and work in theater, has done a lot of translating from Italian to English. She says that the choice of a single word can determine the arc of an entire work.

“There is no such thing as a literal translation, by nature of choosing one word or another, you influence the next step,” she says.

Read or hear the interview on the NPR site here: The Art of Translation