Celebrity Translation in British Theatre: Relevance and Reception, Voice and Visibility

by Robert Stock

Overview

This book explores the impact that high-profile and well-known translators have on audience reception of translated theatre. Using Relevance Theory as a framework, the book demonstrates how prior knowledge of a celebrity translator's contextual background can affect the spectator's cognitive state and influence their interpretation of the play.

Three canonical plays adapted for the British stage are analysed: Mark Ravenhill's translation of Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, Roger McGough's translation of Tartuffe by Molière and Simon Stephens' translation of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. Drawing on interviews, audience feedback, reviews, blogs and social media posts, Stock examines the extent to which audiences infer the celebrity translator's own voice from their translations. In doing so, he adds new perspectives to the long-standing debate on the visibility of the translator in both the process of translating and the reception of the translation.

Celebrity Translation in British Theatre offers an original approach to theatre translation that sheds light on the culture of celebrity and its capacity to attract new audiences to plays in translation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350097865
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	07/23/2020
Series:	Bloomsbury Advances in Translation
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Robert Stock obtained a PhD from the University of Warwick, UK, following a 30-year career in commercial market research. He is now an author and independent scholar in translation studies.

Table of Contents

1. Setting the Scene
2. Celebrity Translation in a Theoretical Context
3. Celebrity Translation and Relevance Theory
4. Mark Ravenhill's Version of Bertolt Brecht's Leben des Galilei
5. Roger McGough's Version of Molière's Tartuffe
6. Simon Stephens' Version of Henrik Ibsen's Et dukkehjem
7. From the Theoretical to the Empirical
8. Going Forward
Select Bibliography
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

Analysing real texts and responses by audiences, Stock uses Relevance Theory to examine how the celebrity translator's voice and attitudes interact with those of the original playwright and argues clearly and cogently that the collaborative nature of celebrity translation should be better understood.
Jean Boase-Beier, Professor Emerita of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, University of East Anglia, UK

Robert Stock's new book represents an invaluable contribution to translation, literary criticism, and relevance theory. Accessible, erudite, and deeply informed by theatrical practice and theory, Celebrity Translation in British Theatre delights and informs in equal measure, and its insightful, provocative analysis will furnish the basis for significant advance in a range of allied disciplines.
Anne Furlong, Associate Professor of English, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada

Translation practitioners and theorists alike have tended to be suspicious of celebrity theatre translation for its perceived role in undermining the status of both 'ordinary' and literal translators. Celebrity Translation in British Theatre will push us to re-examine our thinking on this topic, showing how celebrity theatre translators can positively influence an audience's encounter with a translated play. Stock innovatively marries insights from stylistics and relevance theory with his professional experience as a market researcher in this thoroughly contemporary and welcome contribution to Translation Studies research.
Chantal Wright, Reader in Translation as a Literary Practice, University of Warwick, UK

From the Publisher