This article is concerned with questions of translation and (intralingual) adaptation of drama. The author’s argument is the premise, derived from a general theory of social systems (Luhmann), that within the framework of functional differentiation of modern societies, art constitutes a partly open, partly self-referential sub-system. The position of drama within this sub-system is problematic because in its efforts to constitute meaning it employs both linguistic and extra-linguistic codes. Strindberg’s drama Den starkare, its Swedish adaptation by Per Olov Enquist, Tribadernas natt, and the German translations of both plays, are particularly suitable cases for studying the interplay of these codes. Focusing on stage directions and other elements of non-dialogue texts, the author draws attention to that part of dramatic texts where authors tend to register in concentrated form an inventory of extra-linguistic signs.