Iberian Theatre Translated into Portuguese in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Considering the specificities of theatre translation and its relationship with staging and performance, this chapter deals with the Portuguese publishing market and the editing of Iberian plays in Portuguese translation since the beginning of the twenty-first century. There is special focus on the book series ‘Livrinhos de Teatro’, published in Lisbon by theatre company Artistas Unidos and publishing house Cotovia. It is noted that, from an Iberian point of view, ‘Livrinhos de Teatro’ has been offering translated work from both Spanish and Catalan contemporary playwrights. The series has always counted on institutional support to promote both direct translations and editions of all the plays. Finally, the chapter examines the translation options proposed for the Portuguese title of the play Últimas Palabras de Copito de Nieve by Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga, and argues in favour of the new Iberian ‘contact zone’ that is being built in twenty-first-century theatre translation.