Our discussion (between two translators and two directors) ranged along these lines:
- Translators need to get inside the buildings, at the moment they are on the outside - literally and metaphorically.
- It's an issue of resources, nobody wants to invest in translators the way they do with writers. Also, there is no career progression for translators, eg obvious 'next step' opportunities, like there are for writers.
- What would you ideally want as a translator? "Time paid like an associate director to attend the theatre over a period of time, say 3 months say, one day every fortnight, to be at the right meetings when programming is being discussed, get the right meetings with directors, etc. It would be even better as a collective, eg a few translators working together to represent each other at each of the theatres."
- Directors: "we need a resource to know which translations are available"
- Why are you interested in foreign-language/translated plays? Directors: "we want plays which stretch us/push us outside our comfort zone"
- Directors: UK theatres feel they should nurture "home" talent.
- Which theatres would you want residencies at? In/outside London? Translator: "yes, big regional theatres, perhaps touring companies too, also London but that's much more covered already".
- Director: "the theatre logic is - why invest in translators when they will bring me a finished product anyway."
- Is there a play translators' network? Try Eurodram, a network for finding international plays (still no money for translators obviously!)
- Directors: "we never meet translators" "we need to build relationships with translators", "this discussion has made me think differently about translators, now I can see that we should develop relationships with translators, just like writers".