This study of the uniquely significant role played by the theatre of the German Democratic Republic during the forty years of that state's existence attempts to identify how the translation and adaptation strategies adopted by GDR theatre writers and practitioners informed their theatre practice. Relocation in particular was a vital technique for defeating the censors. The essay considers whether the particular qualities of the drama of the GDR might be rendered intelligible to a West-European democratic audience. The conclusion reached is that, if such translation were possible, it might aid not only the understanding of the potential of theatre in a totalitarian state, but also offer a stimulus to theatre to better define its role in a democracy.