Translation theatre and theatre translation : discourses of Shakespearean plays in Hong Kong

A translator for theatre performance can exert his or her power through textual translation. By opening up more textual spaces, the translator helps preserve the temporalities of the original; those temporalities are locked up in space and in words. Nevertheless, the active agency of the translator is reflected in the presence of the local which is connected to the text. This can be demonstrated by the discussion of Shakespearean plays translated for performance, especially those published texts in Hong Kong. Moreover, the advancement of translation theatre had a significant role to play in the translation of Shakespearean plays for performance in Hong Kong. As reflected by these plays, translation theatre developed later along a route different from where it had started.