Suchergebnisse

Reflecting on my experience of translating contemporary Hungarian theater into English, this paper examines the fluidity of dramatic texts in their original and in translation, and charts collaborations between playwrights, translators and theater-makers. Mindful of the responsibility when working from a "minor" to a "major" language, the paper signals the discrepancy between the indigenous and foreign 'recognition circuit' and observes that translations from lesser-known languages are predominantly marked by a supply-driven agenda. Through case studies from the work of Transylvanian-Hungarian playwright András Visky, the paper argues that considerations regarding such key tenets of live theater as "speakability" and "performability" have to be addressed in parallel with correspondences in meaning, rhythm and spirit. The paper also points out that register and the status of certain lexical choices differ in various languages. Nuancing the trajectory of Visky's plays in English translation, this paper makes a case for translations created with and for their originals, in full knowledge of the source and receiving cultures, and with a view to their potential in performance. The paper posits the need for multiple options encoded in the translation journey, including hypothetical concepts for future mise-en-scène, and situates the translator as a key participant in the performance making process.

Invited comparative essay about two major figures in Hungarian and Romanian playwriting, discussing their work in a transnational context. This chapter focuses on two renowned playwrights who started their careers in the 1980s and came to prominence after the fall of the Iron Curtain in attempting to offer snapshot of the current Romanian and Hungarian theatre scenes, therefore, the blurring of boundaries is key. 'Barrack Dramaturgy' attempts to foreground deeply ingrained cultural memories, or memories that are not personal to us yet still attached to us, and reconfigure these as if they were our own. Visky taps into personal and collective memory to evoke the past, and although inspired by local events, his plays contain a global dimension that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. Coming to prominence precisely in the period of transition from a socialist to a market-oriented regime, both playwrights show awareness of the complexities inherent in economic as well as political and cultural change. The play explores a gradual deployment of menace that blurs the boundaries between actual and imaginary situations, and is among Visniec's works.

This single-authored monograph examines the radical reinterpretation of precursor texts and prompts as an innovative form of adaptation for the stage. In this context, stage adaptations are defined as active and risk-taking interventions on pre-existing sources, dramatic and otherwise, that can range from single-authored plays to collaborative creations and devising projects. Radical adaptations have the potential to constitute a cutting edge pathway of exploration in performance, by virtue of operating at the intersection between experimental practice and multiple creative transpositions and crossovers among genres and media. They offer a viable platform for the negotiation of topical concerns embedded into global cultural, socio-political and historical shifts, thus cultivating a genuine bond between theatre and society. This volume considers a range of case studies, from the work of Alexandru Tocilescu to Rimini Protokoll, and is vital reading for those interested in adaptation studies and forms of contemporary theatre practice.

This article investigates ways in which theatre and performance have the potential to revisit and re-interpret ideological narratives. Drawing on the politics of transnational performance-making processes, it examines how multilingual theatre productions can contribute to the production of subjective and collective identities, and help articulate ideas and perceptions of belonging. With reference to 20/20 – a piece of documentary-style theatre about a major inter-ethnic conflict that took place in 1990 in a bilingual city in Romania – this case study maps out arguments for utilizing multilingualism on stage, and engages with the ethics of representation in the process of multilingual transfer. Billed as 'multi-ethnic and multilingual', the production embraces an agenda that goes beyond the examination of an isolated local conflict and makes the point that both theatre-making and theatre-going are experiences that strongly interact with narratives of cultural identity and hybridization. Thus, the representation of belonging or not belonging is tied in with questions of agency, and the right of individuals to affirm and indeed interrogate their hereditary links to a community.