Bringing early modern Spanish plays to English-speaking audiences is usually greeted with initial enthusiasm; those in the theatre are energized to offer something new and unfamiliar, while those in literature are excited by seeing performances of plays known primarily as written texts. Lamentably, it does not take long to encounter a daunting array of questions and problems. Are good, performable translations available? Should modern performances of Shakespeare serve as a model? How should one deal with culturally foreign concepts? To help provide guidance, this edited volume brings together a variety of perspectives from accomplished translators, directors and literary scholars.
After a historical overview by the editors, the collection is divided into three sections. The first deals with issues of translating comedias. Dakin Matthews and Victor Dixon discuss the challenges of rendering different verse forms such as tercets and sonnets into performable English. David Johnston, referencing his translations of Lope's The Gentleman from Olmedo and The Dog in the Manger, and Catherine Larson, discussing her translation of Zayas's Friendship Betrayed, expand the focus to deal with wider contextual concerns that arise when one presents a play from another time and place to a modern audience. Dawn Smith focuses on one-act comic entremeses and compares recent and earlier translations, while Ben Gunter closes out this section with a chapter on geographical, political, social and theatrical location.
The second section looks at performance. Michael Halberstam writes of his experiences with Moreto's Spite for Spite and compares the comedia to Shakespeare. Anne McNaughton offers insights gained from staging Tirso's Don Juan, The Trickster of Seville, a play also discussed by director Isaac Benabu along with Calderón's The Surgeon of His Honour. The Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of two comedias come under the scrutiny of Jonathan Thacker, who discusses Tirso's Tamar's Revenge, and Catherine Boyle comments on the production of her translation of Sor Juana's House of Desires. The volume concludes with responses and reviews from literary scholars. Again focusing on Tirso's Trickster, James A. Parr compares different translations by Gwynne Edwards and Dakin Matthews, the latter of which, as directed by Anne McNaughton, is also studied by A. Robert Lauer. Susan L. Fischer discusses performance and textual authority in productions of Lope's Capulets & Montagues and Peribanez. Two chapters on Zayas's Friendship Betrayed round out the discussion: Sharon D. Voros views comedy through secondary characters, and Barbara Mujica considers the additional attention required when the playwright is a woman. Due to the variety of approaches combined with the expertise, experience and cross-referencing of its contributors, this volume is indispensable for anyone interested in translating, producing, directing, performing, studying or simply viewing the Spanish comedia in English.
