Somehow it is October.

This month saw me start my role as one of two Translators in Residence at the British Centre for Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia (UEA), alongside Olivia Helliwell, who translates from Slovenian. We will be in place until the end of January 2021.

COVID has of course meant that we are unable physically to take us residence in Norwich and that we will be ‘virtually resident’ instead. By now we are accustomed to these digital experiences, so we have not allowed this shift in format to deter us. For the coming months we will be engaging in many different ways with students, researchers, educators, artists and the public on themes of translation from many different angles, and already we have gathered for a regular meeting with UEA’s Cecilia Rossi to discuss the many issues affecting translation, which we will be turning into a blog. The first, asking ‘What is a literary translator?’ can be found here.

Naturally I will be focussing on theatre translation. I am particularly looking forward to engaging with colleagues from the wider School of Drama, Literature and Creative Writing at UEA. I have for some time been struck by how translation, or working with translators, has not generally been part of training for actors, directors and other theatre-makers; the opportunity to engage with students during their training for the profession is one that particularly appeals to me.

Also I will be engaging in more ‘traditional’ translation-based activities, such as this forthcoming research seminar for the BCLT on my experiences translating the Chilean playwright Bosco Israel Cayo Álvarez.

Outside of the residency, the work of the Out of the Wings Collective (OOTW) has continued all year and has been a real source of inspiration and creativity for me throughout lockdown. We have continued to meet once a month to read a play in translation, and the new world of online meetings has meant colleagues have been able to join us from around the world.

OOTW has been busy: this week, our three-part digital project Ceremonias Pandémicas is released. Based on three short plays by Cuban writer Abilio Estévez, translated by Kate Eaton, this series of three films made by a multinational company will be available to view for free until the end of November.

OOTW is also planning an event in December to explore the work of Black playwrights and theatre-makers from of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds; will be releasing a series of books later in 2020, and hopes soon to announce news of our annual play-reading festival. Stay tuned.

And to wrap up, news of the long-awaited publication of The Uncapturable by Rubén Szuchmacher. Published by Bloomsbury with the support of Programa Sur, this is a highly readable collection of essays on theatre directing and theatre in general, written by one of Argentina’s leading theatre practitioners. We hope to hold a launch event soon, but the book is already in the shops.

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