The Poetics of a Contemporary, Transcultural Adaptation in the Process of Directing the Play Razor in the Flesh (1967) by Plinio Marcos
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The poetics of a contemporary, transcultural adaptation in the process of directing the play Razor in the Flesh (1967) by Plinio Marcos Drama Department Masters in Drama Anderson Barroso de Oliveira 15406212 Supervisor: Prof. Hazel Barnes March 2018 i ii iii Turnitin Originality Report The poetics of a contemporary, transcultural adaptation in the process of directing the play Razor in the Flesh (1967) by Plinio Marcos. by A (Anderson) Barroso de Oliveira From Workshop own paper (Graduate Research Support _73257_1) ● Processed on 26-Feb-2018 11:22 SAST ● ID: 913495777 ● Word Count: 51611 Similarity Index 2% Similarity by Source Internet Sources: 1% Publications: 1% Student Papers: N/A sources: 1 < 1% match (publications) Fernanda Frio. "As fronteiras entre tradução e adaptação: da equivalência dinâmica de Nida à tradaptação de Garneau", Tradterm, 2013 2< 1% match (Internet from 12-Mar-2016) http://repositorio.ufrn.br:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/19869/1/BerttonyDaSilvaNino_DISSER T.pdf 3< 1% match (Internet from 25-May-2016) http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/handle/1871/12701/7668.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=5 4< 1% match (Internet from 28-Jul-2015) http://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/viewFile/80/67 5< 1% match (Internet from 09-Feb-2010) http://www.slideshare.net/khoaanhmy/common-errors-in-vietnamese-english-translation-of- heritage-interpretive-signage-in-some-beauty-spots-in-hanoi-ngo-ha-thu-051e20-thesis iv ABSTRACT This study takes place in the investigation of two aspects. The first was the process of translation and adaptation of the play Razor in the Flesh (1967) by the Brazilian playwright Plinio Marcos to South African English and its respective context, followed by a free adaptation for the context of 2017 in Pretoria. The second aspect was a reflection of the staging process of the same play from the director's perspective in a transcultural environment. Regarding the translation process, I sought in Walter Benjamin’s theory of translation, a translational methodology that could extract the essence of the text, that is, translate, transfer the poetic power of the original work to the new language and to the new context. In parallel with Benjamin's translational theory, I sought in Pavis the understanding of the translational process of the theatrical text and the cultural shift of signs from the original work to the arrival context and the embodied performance. It was a process coordinated from the foreign director’s perspective who seeks to give the conceptual references of his practical work through reflections and quotes from various theorists and theatre directors that served as a basis for research. It is a theoretical and reflexive accompaniment of the phases that made up the staging process of Razor in the Flesh (2017). Keywords: Translation, adaptation, transculturalism, Plinio Marcos, theatre directing and staging process. v Table of Contents Chapter Page ......................................................................................................... i PLAGIARISM DECLARATION............................................................................... ii SUBMISSION FORM FOR DISSERTATION ........................................................ iii TURNITIN ORIGINALITY REPORT....................................................................... iv ABSTRACT............................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION......................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Contextualisation .................................................................... 6 1.1.1 Thinking about Brazil and South Africa - marginality and transculturalism................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................15 1.3 Research Objectives / Research Questions ..................................................... 17 1.4 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................... 18 1.4.1 Definitions of Key Terms.......................................................................... 22 ● Interculturalism and Transculturalism .................................................... 22 ● Hybridism ............................................................................................... 24 ● Translation ............................................................................................. 25 ● Adaptation .............................................................................................. 27 1.5 Methodology ..................................................................................................... 28 1.5.1 Rehearsal plan and practical investigation ......................................... 32 1.5.2 Theatre Directing................................................................................. 34 1.6 Proposed Outline of Chapters .......................................................................... 35 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. 2.1.Translation according to Walter Benjamin ......................................................... 37 2.2. Relativism of textual fidelity .............................................................................. 39 2.3. Recognition of theatre purpose ........................................................................ 41 2.4. The translation of the text for the theatre ......................................................... 43 2.5. Audience reception .......................................................................................... 50 2.6. Adaptation ........................................................................................................ 52 CHAPTER THREE: THE MARGINAL THEATRE OF PLINIO MARCOS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE THEATRE DIRECTOR. 3.1. The underworld of Plinio Marcos’ characters .................................................. 60 3.2. Razor in the Flesh. A cutting-edge play .......................................................... 68 3.2.1. The characters in Razor in the flesh ................................................. 70 3.3. The work of the theatre director and the influences on the directing of the South African production of Razor in the Flesh ................................................................ 77 3.4. The director's work from a transcultural perspective ...................................... 84 vi CHAPTER FOUR: STEPS OF THE STAGING PROCESS OF THE PRODUCTION RAZOR IN THE FLESH 4.1 Razor In The Flesh Staging Process ................................................................ 88 4.2 The text: Razor in the Flesh.............................................................................. 89 4.3 Process of preparation and conception of the production by the director ........ 91 4.4 Rehearsals and round table work .................................................................... 98 4.5 Blocking rehearsal of production .................................................................... 101 4.6 The investigation of characters rehearsal with actors .................................... 106 4.7 Narrative text structure rehearsal ................................................................... 108 4.8 Adjusting the rhythm rehearsal ...................................................................... 110 4.9 Technical rehearsal with the entire support team .......................................... 113 4.10 Final touches and polishing rehearsal ......................................................... 114 4:11 General rehearsal ........................................................................................ 115 4.12 Reflection after the process ......................................................................... 116 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of the study …………………………………………………………..... 119 5.2 Limitations of the study .................................................................................. 125 5.3 Contribution of the study ............................................................................... 125 5.4 Conclusion and central question of the research ……………………….…….. 125 SOURCES CONSULTED .................................................................................... 128 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................... 137 vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Razor in the Flesh (1967) is a classic in the work of Plinio Marcos, in which three characters live a life of dispute and decadence in a rented room in a brothel. The prostitute, Chrystal Scarlet; the pimp, Vado; and the homosexual, Velvet, speak of their lives and expose their marginality. Razor in the Flesh (1967) is a naturalistic portrait of the Brazilian underworld in which the slang, the violence of human relations, the oppressive situation and the struggle of each character construct a representation whose drama is timeless. Razor in the Flesh (1967) is the most staged work of the Brazilian playwright, Plinio Marcos. The play can be seen as a metaphor for the mechanisms of power among the social classes that live in misery, since the characters, although they belong to the same social stratum, are dedicated to a continuous dispute of domination over one