“All that I Am Craving Is the Talk”: Collaboration, Translation and Lady Gregory’s Workhouse Ward

Abstract

ABSTRACT Central to the collaborative dynamics of the Irish Revival, Lady Gregory had a particularly fruitful working relationship with Douglas Hyde (Dubhghlas de hÍde), whose plays she translated and, in many instances, co-authored. This article takes as its case study Gregory’s 1908 play The Workhouse Ward, which arose out of a dramatic scenario she provided to Hyde as the basis for his Teach na mBocht (1903) – translated by Gregory as The Poorhouse (1903). By studying Gregory’s scenarios and draft translations alongside the various published versions, the article responds to Hélène Buzelin’s call for a “process-oriented kind of research” into translation practice. Through this genetic approach, the article allows us to better understand how language and gender politics shaped key plays of the Irish national theatre movement and argues that future editions of Gregory’s and Hyde’s works should include all plays in which each author had significant creative input.