Performing the literal

translating Chekhov's Seagull for the stage

Géraldine Brodie

pp. 209-229

in: Jean Boase-Beier, Lina Fisher, Hiroko Furukawa (eds), The Palgrave handbook of literary translation, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull (1896) is regularly performed in English, with nine different productions in London during the ten years from 2006 to 2016, each in a new version. Brodie's case study investigates theatre translation processes, comparing two productions performed at the Royal National Theatre in versions by Martin Crimp in 2006 and by David Hare in 2016. Both playwrights used the same literal translation by Helen Rappaport to create their texts for performance. The study examines the approaches of the two playwrights and their collaborators by means of an analysis of their objectives, translator style, reception, and their relationship with translation and adaptation. A spotlight on the literal translation demonstrates its key role in translation process and product, and also how unexpected factors influence the progress of case study research.

Cited authors

Čechov Anton