In recent years, accompanied by varied literary awards and constant pursuits of fresh and authentic voices from new writing groups, British theatre is experiencing a renaissance of script writing, which ensures the vitality and development of the twenty-first century theatre. For those who want a deep understanding and appreciation of why the British theatre has the most prosperous and prestigious reputation around the world, Rewriting the Nation : British Theatre Today would be the most appropriate reading regarding to the present British theatre.
近年來, 伴隨著一個個文學獎項和不斷追求新鮮 真實聲音的新寫作群體的出現,英國戲劇界正經 歷著劇本創作的復興, 這保證了二十一世紀劇院 的活力和發展。如果你想更深層次的欣賞英國 戲劇,並且了解它是如何成為世界戲劇界發展 最蓬勃名望最顯赫的舞台,那麼講述如今英國 劇院的《重述英倫:今日英國劇場(Rewriting the Nation:BritishTheatreToday)》會是一本再合 適不過的讀物。
Alex Sierz, author of the book, is a British theatre critic, a contributing writer for publications, such as The Stage, The Independent, and also a visiting professor at London Rose Bruford Drama School, and a lecturer for a cooperation project of Boston University in London. He is also well known for his previous published works, such as In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today published in 2001, which is about the circumstance of the theatre in those days.
本書的作家阿萊克斯·斯爾澤(Alex Sierz)是一名英國戲劇評論家,他曾為《舞臺(The Stage)》, 《獨立報(The Independent)》等刊物撰稿,同時 身為倫敦羅斯布拉福德(Rose Bruford)戲劇學 院的客座教授,也是波士頓大學在倫敦的合作 項目的講師。令他廣為人知的還包括他之前所 出版的著作,例如2001年出版的講述當時戲劇 現況的《直擊劇場:英國戲劇現狀(In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today)》。
In the book, Alex Sierz intends to explore the development of the British theatre in the decade after 2000, especially in the new language-based contemporary drama writing. The book begins with the explanation of his understanding of the new writing. He believes the essence of the new writing is that it is the unique and original sayings from the people living at the time being, and a miniature of a country. This is why a large part of this book contributes to build the relationship between the contemporary theatre and national identity.
英國學者以及評論家阿萊克斯·斯爾澤在他所著 的這本書裏試圖解釋英國戲劇在2000年之後的 十年中的發展,特別是以語言為基礎的當代新寫 作的話劇。在書的一開始便解釋了他所理解的 新寫作,他認為“新寫作的特別之處所在于,這是 活在我們當下生活中的人所說出來的獨特的、 原始的話,它是一個國家的縮影。” 這也是為什麽 這本書花了大量篇幅去將當代的劇院與國家身 份認同(National Identity)聯系起來。
The book also mentions theatres that advocate the new form of writing, such as the Royal Court Theatre, the Bush Theatre, the Edinburgh Traverse Theatre, and also the London Fringe Festival and some touring troupes.
書中同時也講到了一些倡導新寫作的劇院,比如皇家宮廷劇院(Royal Court Theatre), 布什劇院 (Bush Theatre), 愛丁堡的特拉弗斯劇院(Trav-erse)等,包括倫敦邊緣戲劇節(London Fringe) 和一些巡演的劇團。
In the second part of the book, Sierz talks about the British theatre over the past decade, including the globalization of drama, theatre market forces and etc. A large amount of dramas have been categorized in terms of different themes of the plays, to present more clearly from different perspectives the change of the national society in the influence of the theatre in the past ten years. With the reference of a variety of plays, Sierz illustrates the class division, character relationship, couple relationship, sex, sexual orientation, race, and religion. He even points out in a chapter the present theatre from the point of view of a simulated parallel reality. The past-decade British theatre is summed up from a macro perspective. Sierz also demonstrates a survey about the concern and controversy of the new plays in the first decade of the twenty-first century. He believes the present New Labour-led economy accelerates political and social changes, leading to uncertainties and anxieties among people. Particularly during the ongoing debate on national identity, theatre and drama provide us a way to express this kind of uncertainties and anxieties, and through a different perspective to further exhibit a microcosm of a country. This book, by the means of studying many famous and new playwrights, depicts the contemporary British drama. Just as the works bring along discomfort but authentic national identity, Sierz is trying to tell readers the significant role that playwrights play in rewriting about the country.
在書的第二部分斯爾澤講到了過去十年中的英 國戲劇,還有戲劇的全球化,戲劇的市場力量等等,他將大量的戲劇分門別類,用主題性將不同的劇本劃 分開來,從不同角度更清楚地展示在過去十年裏戲劇中 所映射的國家社會的變化。斯爾澤引用了許多劇本來說 明在戲劇中所講述到的階級劃分、人物關系、情侶關系、 性別、性向、種族、宗教、甚至還有一章講了那些從一個模 擬的平行現實來看我們所在的世界的戲劇。從一種鳥瞰 的角度總結了過去十年中的英國戲劇。斯爾澤也展示了 他做的關於二十一世紀的頭十年中的新戲的關注點和爭 議的一個調查,他認為在現在新工黨所領導的經濟下,政 治和社會飛快變化,導致人們焦慮而且對許多事都不確 定,特別是在這個關於國家身份認同爭論聲四起的時候, 劇院和戲劇能給大家一個途徑去表達這種不確定和焦 慮,並且通過不同的視角來表現出一個國家的縮影。本書 通過研究許多英國著名的和新的劇作家來講述當代的英 國戲劇。正如這些作品帶來的讓人並不舒服而又卻是真 實反映出的國家身份認同一般, 斯爾澤試圖告訴讀者劇 作家們在重寫國家身份中扮演著多麽重要的角色。
In the book, Alex Sierz’s not being afraid of arousing controversy, and even acting outspokenly not fearing to offend friends, add a pinch of fun for reading. Such fearlessness comes from the wide range of references he has done. In the meanwhile, Sierz has not only read a lot of well known playwrights’ works, but also the scripts of those who seem to have merely written one simple play. His real clout is derived from his talent of deconstructing the rigorous, professional and detailed analytical academic issues into easy forms of reading, to be easily understood. His creative memorable short phrases not only accurately convey meanings, but also with a sense of entertainment, therefore, anyone can enjoy reading the book.
斯爾澤在書中不懼爭議甚至冒犯朋友的敢於直言更是為 閱讀增添了一份樂趣,他如此有底氣也得益於他所做的 廣泛的參考。同樣的,斯爾澤閱讀了大量的不僅僅只是一 些廣為人知的劇作家的作品,也包括了一些可能只寫過零 星作品的劇作家的作品,並且將嚴謹專業的學術性思考 和分析與輕鬆的閱讀方式結合在一起,深入淺出的闡釋 問題,他自創的一些令人難忘的小短語不光能將意思準確傳達,還帶有一定的娛樂性, 使任何人都可以樂在其中.
