Found in Translation: Chekhov Revisited by Reza de Wet and Janet Suzman

Abstract

Both Reza de Wet and Janet Suzman recently produced plays that were inspired by two famous plays by Chekhov. Reza de Wet’s Drie susters twee (1996) (Three Sisters Two) is a “continuation”/sequel to Chekhov’s Three Sisters, while Janet Suzman’s The Free State (2000) is as indicated in her subtitle, “A South African Response to Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard” (2000). Since these two plays have been discussed extensively from both postmodern and postcolonial perspectives, I have decided to focus in this article rather on the notion of “translation” as propounded in a recent publication by Aaltonen. The concept of “intercultural theatre” also forms an important part of this discussion.

Opsomming

Reza de Wet en Janet Suzman het albei onlangs dramas geskep wat geïnspireer is deur twee beroemde dramas van Chekhov. Reza de Wet se Drie susters twee (Three Sisters Two) (1996) is ’n uitbreiding/vervolg op Chekhov se Drie susters, terwyl Janet Suzman se The Free State, soos aangedui in haar subtitel, “A South African response to Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard” (2000) is. Aangesien beide dramas reeds omvattend bespreek is vanuit postmodernistiese, sowel as postkoloniale perspektiewe, het ek besluit om in my artikel eerder te fokus op die konsep van “vertaling”, soos bespreek in ’n onlangse publikasie van Aaltonen. Die konsep van “interkulturele teater” vorm ook ’n belangrike deel van hierdie bespreking.