Translation theatre and theatre translation: discourses of Shakespearean plays in Hong Kong

Abstract

A translator for theatre performance can exert his or her power through textual translation. By opening up more textual spaces, the translator helps preserve the temporalities of the original; those temporalities are locked up in space and in words. Nevertheless, the active agency of the translator is reflected in the presence of the local which is connected to the text. This can be demonstrated by the discussion of Shakespearean plays translated for performance, especially those published texts in Hong Kong. Moreover, the advancement of translation theatre had a significant role to play in the translation of Shakespearean plays for performance in Hong Kong. As reflected by these plays, translation theatre developed later along a route different from where it had started.

Keywords:

• Theatre translation
• translation theatre
• Shakespeare
• Hong Kong

Notes

1. The information on the performances was published on Yellow Dragon which was a school magazine of the Queen’s College, one of the earliest English secondary schools in Hong Kong.

2. The first performance of Shakespearean play was The Merchant of Venice performed by students from the Department of Foreign Languages of St. John University in Shanghai. It took place in 1902. However, what I am referring to here is the first performance of the play by professionals in China (Meng 1994, 161).

3. The Spring Willow Society chose “Western dramatic form” as a tool for social reform. The first performance was a translation of The Lady of the Camellias (staged February 1907), a novel from A. Dumas. The Black Slave’s Cry to Heaven was adapted from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and was staged in June 1907 (Law and Bren 1999, 29).

4. During the period of anti-Japanese aggression, there were 342 plays staged in Hong Kong, only 9 were translations (Chan 1981, 55–63).

5. This had not been absolutely true because Hamlet was introduced to the audiences in Chongqing in 1942 because of its moral function. Hamlet was related to Chinese situation during the Sino–Japanese war. As stated by Jiao Juyin, people could learn from Hamlet’s procrastination (Huang 2009, 137).

6. In 1954, the first Shakespeare Festival was organized by the Chinese drama group of the Sino-British Club, an organization well known for bridging the cultures of the East and the West. The programmes included no performance of Shakespearean play but a reading of Romeo and Juliet Act III scene ii, and recitation of some sonnets and a speech entitled “Shakespeare’s Plays and the Elizabethan World” was delivered. The second Shakespeare Festival took place 10 years later. It was co-presented by forces with the English speaking community. Hong Kong Stage Club and the Garrison Players staged Twelfth Night in English. A famous Chinese dramatist and educator Yao Ke staged The Merchant of Venice with students from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Government and the British Council supported the event with film shows and exhibitions. The third one was held in 1984. An English performance of Twelfth Night by The Actor Touring Company was brought over from London. Hong Kong Repertory Theatre performed The Merchant of Venice in Cantonese. Scenes from Othello, Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet were performed by other local troupes. These were well attended as around 18,600 participants were recorded in five days. See Wong’s (2002).

7. For details, refer to Chung (1997).

8. Refer to Lai’s (1975).

9. This is taken from “Chiang Yu Tzu (牆有茨)” in “Book IV: The Odes of Yung” of Book of Poetry《詩經.鄘風》: 牆有茨，不可埽也。中冓之言，不可道也。所可道也，言之醜也。 “As grow on the wall the Tribulus,/And ‘gainst the brush retains its hold: /So let what’s in the harem done/By us without remain untold.” (translated by James Legge (1876)).

10. This is indicating possessive s’ with a plural sense. It is also a particle with emotion.