Related Links: The Mercurian
The Mercurian is named for Mercury who, if he had known it, was/is the patron god of theatrical translators, those intrepid souls possessed of eloquence, feats of skill, messengers not between the gods but between cultures, traders in images, nimble and dexterous linguistic thieves. Like the metal mercury, theatrical translators are capable of absorbing other metals, forming amalgams. As in ancient chemistry, the mercurian is one of the five elementary “principles” of which all material substances are compounded, otherwise known as “spirit”. The theatrical translator is sprightly, lively, potentially volatile, sometimes inconstant, witty, an ideal guide or conductor on the road.
The Mercurian publishes translations of plays and performance pieces from any language into English. The Mercurian also welcomes theoretical pieces about theatrical translation; rants, manifestos, and position papers pertaining to translation for the theatre; as well as production histories of theatrical translations. Submissions should be sent to: Adam Versenyi at anversen@email.unc.edu or by snail mail: Adam Versenyi, Department of Dramatic Art, CB# 3230, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3230. For translations of plays or performance pieces, unless the material is in the public domain, please send proof of permission to translate from the playwright or original creator of the piece. Since one of the primary objects of The Mercurian is to move translated pieces into production, no translations of plays or performance pieces will be published unless the translator can certify that he/she has had an opportunity to hear the translation performed in either a reading or another production-oriented venue.
Volume 1, Issue 1.....................................................................................Click Here to Download(*.pdf)
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note.................................................................................................................................................3
Is that How It Was? (C’était comment déjà?)............................................................................................4
By Jean Bouchaud, translated from the French by Phyllis Zatlin
Theatre Translation: An Exercise in Historical Research of Demarigny’s Cajamarca......................42
By Dana M. Pilla
The Last Inca: The Glory and Infamy of Pizarro......................................................................................51
By Claude Demarigny, translated from the Spanish by Dana M. Pilla
Polyeucte, The Martyr..............................................................................................................................119
By Pierre Corneille, a version by Gordon Carver
Performing Arabic Plays on the Israeli Hebrew Stage (1945-2006): Some Case Studies and Reviews ...................................................................................................................................................172
By Hannah Amit-Kochavi
Volume 1, Issue 2 (Summer 2007).......................................................Click Here to Download(*.pdf)
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note.................................................................................................................................................3
Allegorical Auto Sacramental: The Great Theater of the World..............................................................4
By Pedro Calderón de la Barca, translated by James Maraniss
Huddersfield...............................................................................................................................................54
By Uglješa Šajtinac, translated by Duška Radosavljević, adaptation by Caridad Svich
Beans, Haricots, Madesou: The Challenge of Postcolonial Translation...........................................127
By Jill Mac Dougall
Bintu..........................................................................................................................................................140
By Koffi Kwahulé, translated from the French by Jill Mac Dougall
The Lost Envelope...................................................................................................................................179
By Pierre Mumbere Mujomba, translated from the French and adapted by Jill Mac Dougall
When Translation Creates Encounters.................................................................................................249
By Heidrun Adler, translated by Adam Versényi
Volume 1, Issue 3 (Winter 2008)...........................................................Click Here to Download(*.pdf)
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note.................................................................................................................................................3
Nothing between the Teeth.........................................................................................................................4
By Susana Torres Molina, translated by María Claudia André
Manifesto....................................................................................................................................................10
By Susana Torres Molina, translated by María Claudia André
Turning Point..............................................................................................................................................28
By Grzegorz Wróblewski, translated by Adam Zdrodowski
The Ballad of the Pine Tree Killer............................................................................................................61
By Rebekka Kricheldorf, translated by Neil Blackadder
Translating Cultures: Bridging the Ancient and Modern......................................................................166
through Trans-adaptation and Performance
By Hannah Gaff and Ian Borden
Volume 1, Issue 4 (Fall 2008)...........................................................Click Here to Download(*.pdf)
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note.................................................................................................................................................4
Translation for Production Roundtable......................................................................................................5
Directing the Comedia in the Twenty-first Century:..................................................................................7
Translating Culture through Performance
By Jason Yancey
The Evolution of Translation Values from Pre-.......................................................................................12
Production through Rehearsal
By Kathleen Jeffs
Ubu Translated...........................................................................................................................................23
By Rob Gander
Heliocentric.................................................................................................................................................26
By Raymond Roussel, translated by Kathleen Dimmick
Toussaint L’Ouverture.............................................................................................................................101
By Jean Métellus, translated by Edward Gauvin
He Who Opens the Door........................................................................................................................111
By Neda Nezhdana, Translated by Anatole Bilenko
Volume 2, Issue 1 ....................................................................................Click Here to Download(*.pdf)
Table of Contents
Correction......................................................................................................................................................3
Editor’s Note.................................................................................................................................................4
Apocalypse Tomorrow:...............................................................................................................................9
By Ricardo Monti, translated by Jean-Graham Jones
HereThere...................................................................................................................................................29
By Boguslaw Schaeffer, translated by Magda Romanska
The Right to Die.......................................................................................................................................127
By José Luis Ramos Escobar, translated by Dr. Bert Patrick
Translation for Production Roundtable..................................................................................................210
By Adam Versényi
Translation for Production: Difficult Dialogues and..............................................................................211
the Art of the Multi-disciplinary Collaboration
By Oliver Mayer
Translation for Performance: Another Chekhov Play?........................................................................214
By Allison Horsley
