Navigating the labyrinth from performability to performativity: the creation of a Beijing Linda Loman as a case in point

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article follows a performability-performativity conceptual thread in its attempt to decipher how a character can be recreated on stage via translation. Using the creation of Linda Loman in Beijing People’s Art Theatre’s 1983 production of Death of a Salesman as a case in point, it starts with a comparative analysis of what was considered (un-)performable from the points of view of the director and the actress playing the role, while also looking for performative undercurrents, which often manifest as self-performing or self-reinforcing speech acts. The investigation ends with an exploration of the interplay between the extra-textual performatives and the translation, a performative force in itself. By demonstrating how the Beijing iteration of Linda Loman was constructed from the tensions and interactions between many performative forces, including gender, authorship, theatrical training and translation, this article not only explores the creative process of translation theatre as complex and dynamic, but also proves the mechanisms of that process.