| This study re-examines the notion of "performability" in the productions of Pinter's play Betrayal from the perspective of theatre semiotics.The double nature of drama means that the translator must not only transfer the linguistic information in the text,but also pay attention to the complex set of other theatrical signs which make every performance unique and unrecapturable.This thesis is a case study of an enduringly popular play Betrayal written by Harold Pinter not only because of its commercial appeal to the Chinese audience,but also because its existing translations present different modes of translation which can serve as a fitting case to study "performability".And the ample resources retrieved from newspapers and reviews can help restore as many theatrical signs as possible.There are two primary research questions of this study:1.Is it possible to measure the performability of a play by studying the sign systems in a production?If possible,then what is the definition of performability in the light of theatre semiotics?2.How did the two staged versions ensure "performability" from a semiological viewpoint?How were these signs translated to achieve performability?This thesis aims to revisit the notion "performability" from a semiological viewpoint in studying the translations of the play Betrayal.To put it differently,thisthesis tries to piece together as many theatrical signs as possible in analyzing the original play and the translated playtexts so as to situate translations in an integrated whole of the play rather than a two-dimensional analysis of texts.The three translated versions are not to be equally examined in the present analysis,considering their distinctive purposes,the absence of the recordings of their respective productions,and some examples being more illustrating than others.To investigate the textual nuances in the selected playtexts and to scrutinize off-script factors that contribute to the production of the play,the thesis follows a case-study design,with an in-depth analysis of theatrical signs,some are verbal signs,others staging signs.It was Kowzan's(1968,p.57)assertion that "Everything is sign in theatrical presentation" that inspires the author of this thesis to resort to theatrical semiotics to analyse the playtext and its translations.It is found out in this research that performability cannot be ensured until at least two sign systems are at play at the same time.The words in dialogues are not performable until they were uttered by the actors and actresses.The stage direction,though mostly absent or muted in the final production of a play,will be made performable by "translating" them into gestures,decor and lighting.And the study also tried to prove that performability can be analysed and measured by adopting "a semiotic approach to theatre as a total artistic experience5"(Alter,1981,p.113).The performability of a script is a result of collaboration of different agents in a production team such as translator,director,actor,and even stage designers. |
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