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Article published In:
Translation in the Theatre
Edited by Cristina Marinetti
[Target 25:3] 2013
► pp. 343–364

Surtitles take the stage in Franco-Canadian theatre

| University of Alberta | Translated from the French by Richard Lebeau

Faced with the need to expand their audience, small Franco-Canadian theatre companies are experimenting with various on-stage translative strategies, such as surtitles, to reach audiences with diverse linguistic and cultural profiles. Not only do they explore their bilingualism in plays that incorporate Canada’s two official languages, they enhance the bilingual aesthetics of the original play with the use of surtitles. In addition to conventional surtitles translating the source text delivered orally on stage, creative surtitles transmit new messages and thus multiply the possible readings generated by the performance. Thus, translation achieves a certain autonomy within the theatre production and, in doing so, redefines its function while challenging the existing theoretical models applied to the translation of dramatic texts.

Keywords: Franco-Canadian, bilingualism, theatre, on-stage translation, creative surtitles
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • 1.Theatre languages and translation
  • 2.Hybrid vernacular languages
  • 3.Perceptions of bilingualism
  • 4.Translating bilingual plays
  • 5.Textual and performative aspects in surtitling
  • 6.Creative surtitles
  • 7.Theoretical considerations
  • 8.Intercultural aesthetics
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 11 October 2013
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.25.3.03lad
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