Jeremy Tiang's presentation shed light on several trends in theatre translation that also align with broader trends in theatre. His observations on how the "canonical" works are translated again and again, while newer plays are rarely if ever translated, speaks to how (especially in American theatre) most major productions are of well known plays or by well known playwrights (we need not mention the alarming trend of the movie-to-play translation). In that sense, translation between languages is hardly different frm what Pavis describes as the translative process and relationship between text and performance. One thing that surprised me in Jeremy Tiang's presentation was the reveal of a shocking stealth translation--I have heard many things about The Lehman Trilogy but not a peep about it being translation! On the other hand, I don't completely agree with the idea that Les Miserables is a stealth translation; the adaptive qualities of working from a book and the multiauthored nature of musical theatre (librettist/composer/book writer) already imply a layered process. The prevalence of Chekhov translations done by a playwright working from a literal translation also surprised me, but given the difference in intial investment needed for a play as opposed to a novel I can see the incentive.
Grace
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