In:Romeo and Juliet in European Culture
Edited by Juan F. Cerdá, Dirk Delabastita and Keith Gregor
[Shakespeare in European Culture 1] 2017
► pp. 25–36
Chapter 1Heavenly eloquence
Romeo and Juliet and linguistic conflict
Published online: 14 December 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/sec.1.02eng
https://doi.org/10.1075/sec.1.02eng
Abstract
There have been several multilingual productions of Romeo and Juliet since the late 1980s, with the Capulets and the Montagues speaking two different languages, the Prince possibly a third. In this paper such productions in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine (and one in Canada for comparison) are discussed in view of the problems and opportunities multilingualism can create. Conflicts tend to be better motivated and harder to resolve, the philosophy of the productions tends to vary between political commitment and theatrical experiment, and language as the basis of theatrical communication is devalued.
Keywords: performance, multilingualism, Shakespeare, postmodernism, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Russia, Switzerland
Article outline
- Introduction
- Saskatoon
- Fribourg/Freiburg
- Helsinki/Helsingfors
- Liège
- Tübingen/Petrosadovsk
- Kiew/Munich
- Conclusions
Notes References
References (27)
Cantré, Monique. 2010. “Berührendes Liebespaar: Julia Capulet zeigt den Stinkefinger.” Reutlinger Generalanzeiger, October 11.
Carlson, Marvin. 2006. Speaking in Tongues: Language at Play in the Theatre. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Day, Moira. 1996. “Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan 1985–1990: ‘The Stratford of the West’ (NOT).” Essays in Theatre/Études Théâtrales 15 (1): 69–90.
Deashelle. 2013. “Roméo et Juliette revisité par Yves Beaunesne: un accueil de L’Atelier Jean Vilar à L’Aula Magna jusqu’au 25 octobre 2013.” Accessed July 13, 2015. [URL].
Deglise, Fabien. 2013. “Belgique – Roméo et Juliette conjurent les divisions linguistiques.” Le devoir, September 25.
Engler, Balz. 2011. “Shakespeare’s Languages.” In Shakespeare in Europe: Nation(s) and Boundaries, edited by Odette Blumenfeld and Veronica Popescu, 130–136. Iaşi: Editura Universităţii Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
. 2012. “‘Ich will nicht gehn, je suis bien avec toi’: Romeo und Julia in Fribourg/Freiburg.” In Wir und die Anderen: Stereotypen in der Schweiz. Nous et les autres: stéréotypes en Suisse, edited by Balz Engler, 223–229. Fribourg: Academic Press.
Gavin, Paul J. 2006/2007. “Border Wars: Shakespeare, Robert Lepage, and the Production of National Sentiment.” The Upstart Crow (26): 45–60.
Greenblatt, Stephen, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine E. Maus, and Andrew Gurr, eds. 1997. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W. W. Norton.
Hellwig, Hilda. 2010. “Kaksikielinen Romeo ja Julia.” In Shakespeare Suomessa, edited by Nely Keinänen, 109–116. Helsinki: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
Jade, Christian. 2013. “‘Roméo et Juliette,’ version bilingue: une Juliette flamande transcendante.” Accessed July 13, 2015. [URL].
Keim, Stefan. 2010. “Leidenschaft auf der Schaukel: wanderlust blog: Das Landestheater Tübingen und das Karelische Nationaltheater spielen zusammen ‘Romeo und Julia’.” Accessed July 13, 2015. [URL].
Kulturstiftung des Bundes. 2012. “Wanderlust blog.” Accessed August 18, 2015. [URL].
Lepage, Robert, and Christie Carson. 1993. “Collaboration, Translation, Interpretation [interview].” New Theatre Quarterly 9 (February): 31–36.
Loudiyi, Marion V. 2013. “Et si Roméo et Juliette étaient belges? [Interview].” La nouvelle république, May 21.
Maguire, Laurie E. 1999. “‘Oh Be Some Other Name’: Translating Romeo and Juliet
.” In Shakespeare: Text and Theater: Essays in Honor of Jay. L. Halio, edited by Lois Potter and Arthur F. Kinney, 266–284. Cranburg, NJ: Associated University Presses.
McCall, Gordon. 1990. “Two Solitudes: A Bilingual Romeo & Juliette in Saskatoon.” Canadian Theatre Review 62: 35–41.
Rusconi, Giuseppe. 1989. “Montecchi tedeschi e Capuleti francesi.” Corriere del Ticino, September 22.
Simon, Sherry. 2000. “Robert Lepage and the Languages of Spectacle.” In Theater sans frontières: Essays on the Dramatic Universe of Robert Lepage, edited by Joseph Donohoe Jr. and Jane M. Koustas. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.
