The Quality Criteria of Theatre Translation:
The Case of Ali Akbar Alizad’s Network of Translation of Waiting for Godot into Persian
Abstract
Theatre is an under-researched area of translation criticism. In criticism, the quality of the work is evaluated, and that quality also affects its reception. Therefore, having quality factors at hand can help practitioners improve the quality of their work, and critics have tangible criteria to assess works based on the actual processes. The purpose of the study is to explore the quality criteria of the stakeholders of a successful theatre translation in Iran. Alizad’s translation-performance-after-performance network of Waiting for Godot into Persian was analyzed. The study used Actor-Network Theory and Performance Studies as its theoretical framework. Actor-Network Theory allowed ‘translation’ to be seen as the ‘product’ of the interaction between human and non-human actors, and Performance Studies allowed the analysis of the process from the perspective of the players involved. To triangulate, semi-structured interviews, paratexts, and extratexts/metatexts were qualitatively analyzed. Seven main quality criteria were identified. The factors together make the quality of the work and may lead to its positive or negative reception. The study’s findings show that theatre translation quality is not an isolated feature of texts but an emergent property of the entire process that begins before translation, continues through performance, and can persist after the performance.
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