John London: 'Contemporary Catalan Drama in English: Some Aspirations and Limitations'

Contemporary Theatre Review, 17 (2007), 453-62. ISSN 1048 6801.

What has been the reception of Catalan drama translated into English? Have there been any great successes in US and UK theatres, comparable to the popularity of playwrights like Sergi Belbel in France and Germany? How has Catalan culture been perceived by audiences outside Spain?

This study of Catalan plays produced in English from the 1980s until 2006 includes detailed analysis of press reviews in the USA, Great Britain and Australia. It shows how distorted presentations of texts have led to unfulfilled expectations and misplaced journalistic comments by the likes of Michael Billington, Lyn Gardner and Charles Spencer. However, the article is also a contribution to the discussion about translating for the stage, partly based on the author's own experience as a translator. By reference to Herder and by comparison with Pinter and Beckett, it is possible to examine the unique position of Catalan linguistic nationalism.

As well as seeing dramatists such as Sergi Belbel, Josep Maria Benet i Jornet, Lluïsa Cunillé and Rodolf Sirera in a new light, this study suggests new ways in which non-English plays can be translated and bilingualism can be interpreted theatrically.