In the spirit of keeping these updates a little more regular – and shorter! – today seems like a great day for a round-up, with three of my translations lined up to be performed in the coming months.
First up will be The Sickness of Stone by Blanca Doménech. This is such a powerful play and one that just keeps coming back. First at the Out of the Wings festival in 2016, then in the US for a reading at the Access Theatre, New York, and now, in June, as part of the Columbia International Play Festival, again in New York. Nana Dakin (currently in rehearsals for White Pearl at the Royal Court), directs this fantastic, tense two-hander that combines scrutiny of Spain’s difficult recent history with an exploration of echo chambers, division, and the inevitable hypocrisy of living in our modern world. It is also published by Oberon Books in this anthology.
Next, in August at the Omnibus Theatre, London, a beautiful play by the Chilean writer Gabriela Aguilera. Cassandra, Sandra explores the meaning of grief, home and family in a bittersweet comedy of returning, remembering, and the kindness of strangers. I am delighted that this translation, which was supported by the Chilean Arts Council, is to be performed at the Out of the Wings festival alongside work from five other Iberoamerican countries.
And in 2020, just announced today, I am thrilled to be translating for the Royal Court once more after Guillermo Calderón’s B in 2017. Pablo Manzi’s A Fight Against is one of the most compelling plays I have read in recent years in its exploration of violence, isolation, and the need for human contact in an alienating world. I can’t wait to get to work on this pan-American odyssey from one of Chile’s most exciting contemporary voices.
(Also, belated news that B had its US premiere earlier this year! Seattle’s Washington Ensemble produced this blackly-comic three hander in January.)
But before all that, I am in Sheffield next week to talk to the Institute of Translators and Interpreters about all things theatre translation. I am honoured to be an invited speaker at the ITI’s annual conference, and looking forward to visiting this great city for the first time in a little while.
As promised, a much shorter post this time! Hasta la próxima.
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