So it was perhaps fitting that on a recent Sunday morning, a group of actors were in front of a rapt audience in a small lecture hall, reading from the local equivalent of scripture: the plays of the man from Stratford-upon-Avon.
Or were they?
Wednesday, October 05, 2016
Translating Shakespeare? 36 Playwrights Taketh the Big Risk
So it was perhaps fitting that on a recent Sunday morning, a group of actors were in front of a rapt audience in a small lecture hall, reading from the local equivalent of scripture: the plays of the man from Stratford-upon-Avon.
Or were they?
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4 comments:
Producing a piece of Shakespeare has never been a small task especially when it comes to translation. It is always a job to balance making the script more understandable to a general audience while still keeping intact the integrity of the original Shakespeare play. I think this is typically dependent upon the audience you are playing to. If a traditional theatre company were to put on "Much Ado" they would be expected to perform the piece in its whole entirety. Alternately, if a new age experimental theatre trip were to perform "Romeo and Juliet" they would be expected to put Romeo in space and Juliet as a prisoner of war, giving me scary flashbacks to the millions of versions of boy meets girl Romeo and Juliet movies. I personally feel that a balance between these creates a piece that not only has a bit of everything to please every Shakespeare nut, but will also create a play that fulfill the love, drama and tragedy of a traditional Shakespearian play.
It’s interesting that people have such strong reactions to the idea of rewriting Shakespeare. As beautiful and incomparable as his words are, it seems odd to hold so precious the work of a man who was himself a pragmatic businessman, an artistic magpie, and a rewriter of others work. I imagine he wouldn’t mind the idea in the least.
Why not experiment in making the ideas beneath his words more accessible? Give it a shot. See what comes of it, if it illuminates anything. It’s true that it won’t really be Shakespeare anymore (his name and his language are indivisible) and I couldn’t support calling these new works anything more than “inspired by,” but I trust Shakespeare has earned his reverence – it seems unlikely his true words will be permanently replaced by pale modern versions.
Having said that, I’m not a fan of the idea that it is *always* preferable to simplify intimidating work rather than empower people to tackle or attempt intimidating work. Let’s teach people its ok not to understand everything if it means you're stretching and challenging yourself.
Having in my past as an undergraduate waork with trying to translate Shakespeare's play into German this article is fascinating to me. The act of translation in it is simplest form is already difficult as I discovered when look at various translations into German. That being said what Play On is attempting is a really interesting and I think worth wild endeavor, to "translate" Shakespeare into modern English. For me it is a staggering goal to do that with any older play or book but to try and do it with the works of the playwright himself that would be beyond daunting. While I would feel completely unequal to the task I do understand why Play On feels that this is a worthwhile project. All in all though I am intrigued to see what the finished "translations" would be referred to as
While it is true that the language itself of Shakespeare's plays is one of the only true marks of Shakespeare, I think this movement could be used as a powerful tool to make Shakespeare not only more appealing, and slightly more accessible to younger contemporary audiences, but to bring new audiences to the true works of Shakespeare. I think this project simply has to be framed sincerely as a gateway to Shakespeare, instead of presenting itself as bona fide works of Shakespeare, modernized. Shakespeare's words are clearly painstakingly chosen, and I can see how many argue that the heart of his works is gone once those words are altered. But the stories and plots that guide these plays are now also indelibly linked to Shakespeare, and I think the perception that these plots are seen as universal is an erroneous one. Projects like this must proceed with care, but I do think the have a place, and are meritorious in the long run.
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