Play On Shakespeare - Play On Shakespeare

Szekspir by Any Other Name Is Still the Bard of Avon

Four hundred years after the death of William Shakespeare, on April 23, 1616, he remains as celebrated as ever. Festivities to commemorate the playwright’s life and work are planned everywhere from Germany to Shanghai. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., has sent a flock of First Folios—the earliest collection of Shakespeare’s plays, now one of the most valuable books in history—to alight in every U.S. state.

Langworthy on translating Shakespeare: First do no harm

I’ll never forget the first German-language production of Shakespeare I saw – Troilus and Cressida at the Berliner Ensemble in then East Berlin. And while I can’t tell you that much about the design or the actors, I was struck by how clear the language was. You see, in Germany, Shakespeare gets translated once or twice each generation into contemporary language that sits comfortably in the listener’s ear.

Pericles

February 24 – March 26, 2016 | Orlando Shakes | Production | Orlando, FL, USA

Video – Scott Kaiser. Translation.

OSF’s Scott Kaiser, himself a scholar of Shakespeare’s language, has written a fine essay, “Translating Timon,” which provides before-and-after examples of what Cavander’s “English-to-English” translation looks like.

Shakespeare in Modern English?

THE Oregon Shakespeare Festival has decided that Shakespeare’s language is too difficult for today’s audiences to understand.

Why We’re Translating Shakespeare

Though our ‘Play on!’ commissioning project has met with some vocal disapproval, the work is grounded in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s core values—and our love for the Bard.

Scripture Is Changeable, But Shakespeare? Heaven Forfend

Oregon Shakespeare Fest’s new translation project pits purity against clarity, 400 years of reverence against a few hours’ traffic of the stage.

Why We (Mostly) Stopped Messing With Shakespeare’s Language

Last week, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced that it had commissioned thirty-six playwrights to translate all of Shakespeare’s plays into modern English. The backlash began immediately, with O.S.F. devotees posting their laments on the festival’s Facebook page.

Spelunking with Shakespeare

My name is Lue. And when it comes to Shakespeare, I’m afraid I might be just a little bit tone-deaf.

And after working at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for more than twenty years, I am grateful that there isn’t a competency test because I would not have had the terrific career I have had. But there is much relief in finally confessing my dirty little secret.

A Facelift for Shakespeare

Wall Street Journal A Facelift for Shakespeare A new translation effort aims to make all of Shakespeare’s plays comprehensible to today’s audiences By John H. McWhorter | Updated Sept. 25, 2015 3:08 pm ET The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will announce next…