Monday 11 April 2011

obviously!

emailed to me from a friend at work:
Speaking of translations, a translation story, told to me by Greg Doran of the RSC on Friday, dating from the time he was in Japan:

LOCAL DIRECTOR: We hope you will enjoy our Midsummer Night's Dream, though you will understand that we have had to translate the play into terms our audience will understand.

DORAN: How interesting -- what changes have you had to make, beyond translating the words?

LOCAL DIRECTOR: In Japan there is no real forest and no tradition of forests meaning anything special. So our Midsummer Night's Dream takes place on the seashore.

DORAN: I see.

LOCAL DIRECTOR: And in Japanese culture there is no tradition of little magic flying creatures, no fairies. There is no Japanese equivalent word for 'fairy'. So our Midsummer Night's Dream has no fairies.

DORAN: But what about the fairy characters, Puck, Oberon, Titania and all? Have you simply cut them entirely?

LOCAL DIRECTOR: Certainly not. In our version, obviously, they are tuna fish.

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