Theatre Translation Through Collaboration : Dramaturgical Approaches to the Translation of Two Czech Plays in Dramatic Space

Daníčková, Eva

Abstract

This thesis is an investigation of rehearsal-based, collaborative approaches to theatre translation of two Czech plays, translated into English and staged in the UK. The two Practice as Research projects involved theatre translations of the plays Poker Face (same title in the original text) by Petr Kolečko and From the Dust of Stars (Z prachu hvězd) by Lenka Lagronová.
The main research question centres on the processes involved in theatre translation: the ways in which theatre translation is affected by the rehearsal and how these processes are reflected in one another. Challenging the notion of the remote translator and play translation as a finished product to be interpreted by the theatre director or a company, the aim of both projects was to integrate the translator fully in the rehearsal process in a dramaturgical capacity. Doing so led to investigating the integration of the hybrid translator-dramaturg in the rehearsals and how their presence affects the development of both the linguistic aspect of the translation and the emergence of the performance text and the mise-en-scène. The investigation also focuses on the ways in which a collaborative approach to theatre translation, largely set within the environment of the rehearsal room, affects the translated text as well as the performance that emerges from this approach.
Both projects were conceived of as creative experiments in theatre translation, challenging notions of the dichotomy of the page and the stage and exploring the work of translation which mirrors the work of theatre. The initial translation drafts of the two plays were used as dramatic ‘provocations’ in the initial rehearsals, provoking a response from the director and actors that set up a dialogue exploring the text in space from the first rehearsal. The research draws upon theories of translation and theatre and the deeper explorations into the practice of theatre translation are methodologically framed within the hermeneutic philosophy of Ricoeur’s linguistic hospitality and in Bachelard’s phenomenological study of the poetics of space in relation to ‘housing’ the theatre translation.

Citation

Daníčková, E. (2022). Theatre Translation Through Collaboration : Dramaturgical Approaches to the Translation of Two Czech Plays in Dramatic Space. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4200851

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 15, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 15, 2023
• Keywords: Drama
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4200851
• Award Date: 2022-11