Understanding every line in a William Shakespeare play is not necessarily a requirement for enjoying the production. Hinrich Horstkotte has taken this idea one step further to propose that a director could stage one of the bard's plays without any knowledge of the language it is being performed in.
With a modest comprehension of Mandarin and a keen translator, the German director spent two months working with the Spring Wind Art Theatre on their Chinese-language version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The fruits of the collaboration will be staged by the troupe this weekend in Taipei.
The joint effort originated as a conversation between Horstkotte and Spring Wind's stage designer while the two studied theater arts together several years ago in Munich. Earlier this year, the idea materialized when the Kaohsiung-based theater's founder, Shirley Chen (
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPRING WIND ART THEATER
Having studied and worked on various European operas, Horstkotte said he has always been enamored by traditional Chinese opera, but never had the opportunity to explore this interest until now. For this particular show, he incorporates aspects of facial makeup and costume designs such as the long, wide "water sleeves" worn in Chinese opera.
Although this is his first time to work with a Mandarin adaptation of the play, it is not Horstkotte's first time to direct a translation of a Shakespearian script. Having translated scripts from English to German himself, he said there is always a risk of losing part of the meaning in the rendition, and in this case, he cannot be sure whether it is even a "good translation."
"Shakespeare's plays are full of double meanings and to translate them into any language is difficult. But without speaking Chinese myself, I can only have my interpreter give me a literal translation of the script. There is no way for me to know how much of the subtle meaning is lost," he said.
The effect this had on his direction of the show, however, was constructive, thanks in his words to the "beauty of the experience."
Concentrating heavily on movement and costume and set design, "it is a little bit like a silent film, you can just watch the story unfold on stage," he said.
A script that weaves together tales of love, marriage, lust and family duty, Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's lighter, yet unquestionably melancholy, plays. Most of the action takes place in the forest, where a few mischievous fairies have decided to intervene in the love lives of a group of aristocrats.
When asked if a person with only a beginner's level of Chinese would be able to follow the story enough to enjoy the show, Horstkotte replied, "I hope so, I do."
And if all else fails, you can do as the fairy Puck suggests and imagine it was nothing more than a dream.
Performance notes:
What: Spring Wind Art Theatre (
When: Tonight and Tomorrow at 8pm, tomorrow 3pm.
Where: The Red Playhouse
Price: NT$100, NT$60 for children
Tickets: NT$500 at the door or on-line at www.artsticket.com.tw
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