CMU School of Drama


Saturday, December 26, 2009

West End translates for foreign theatre goers

Times Online: "What if you were told that the chanteuse here isn’t a Left Bank beauty dragging on her umpteenth Gitane, but one Tracy Turnblad, a swinging teen in the 1960s: happily overweight, hair sprayed up to the heavens and, crucially, resident in Baltimore, Maryland, USA?
It’s true, and a miracle as only the West End can provide. Because, thanks to a new device, Tracy — the heroine of Hairspray, the super-successful, candy-coloured, John Waters-inspired musical — is available in the language of Molière eight times a week. And in German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin... even English, for the hard of hearing."

1 comment:

Sonia said...

This is an interesting tool. I think that its a clever idea, that can help market your shows to a broader audience. However, I am not sure that I am a fan. I think that if a audience member is too busy reading the prompt in their hand they arent gettin gthe whole experiece of the show. Yes they understand the plot, but I almost feel that in being distracted from the interaction of actors and the visual aspects take away from the show. I think that even if a show is in a different language, its ok if you dont understand it because the overall picture is evident. For instance, when I went and saw 'The Marriage of Figaro' they had subtitles at the top of the proscenium. It was nice I guess but watching it was so much more entertaining, and if I glanced up from time to time to get clarification, that worked to. I guess to each his own, if people want the handheld device, its a good thing to have as an option