1. Introduction

The theater is a bridge between the cultures and customs of different countries. (Pavis, 2010). Performing plays from different countries on stage, in addition to showing the customs of those countries, also shows their cultures which can be seen and understood and even modeled on them. (Akan.F, 2019) Stated that, “In translation, we do not translate a word, sound, style or grammar but meaning” (p. 59). Therefore, in order to transfer such important matters from one country to another, it is necessary to make a proper translation of that play so that its meaning and content are clear and understandable to the audience when performing on stage. In this way, the audience of that performance can communicate with it and understand everything they want to read in the physical version of the drama on stage. A proper translation of a play makes the concept and message of that play be conveyed to the audience in the most eloquent way possible.

One of the objectives of this study is to find out the differences between the original text and the translation of a drama and the differences that the translated drama and its performance have on stage. Another objective is to find the most widely used theatrical system used in performing a play on stage. As mentioned in the preceding sections, the original plays which are translated in Iran cannot be performed on stage flawlessly due to the lack of performability and cooperation of translators with theater experts, and there are also cultural differences between the original texts, its translation, and its performance on stage. For these reasons, the translated play undergoes changes by the director, and even in some cases, the actors offer the director or assist him/her to change some part of the play. That is why it is sometimes seen that some parts of the translated drama are deleted or changed during their performance. This research aims to find out the reasons for the differences between the translation on page and stage. Examining them will help the play perform better on stage. In the translation of a play, some terms or sentences are subject to change or omission because not changing and deleting them confuses the audiences (especially the theater audiences). Therefore, in order to save the audiences from confusion before the play goes on stage, the translator and the director revises the play with the help and advice of an expert in the field of theater (in terms of changing the issue of cultural, semantic issues, etc.) to be ready to perform on stage. Therefore, the following research questions were formulated:

1. What are the differences between the translation on page and stage of Macbeth Drama? 

2. Which one of the categories of theatrical systems has more frequency in the translation on stage?

2. Review of the Related Literature

Drama is a kind of narrative that includes actors performing live on stage. So, as a narrative mode, first of all, the translation of the drama should be such that it can be read easily and then run on stage. So translating drama is a very important thing that needs to be seriously addressed and also it is very different from translating a story and a novel.

(Raffel, 1988, as cited in Suh, 2005) stated that “While in most other artistic collaborative ventures either partner could proceed on his own, in collaborative translation neither could operate without the other. Each possesses knowledge and abilities that the other does not have” (p. 130). So, according to him, it can be said that in translating drama when the translator wants to translate a drama, he should consult a person who is an expert in the field of theater for a drama translation to be performed on stage. But in Iran, this collaboration between the translator and the expert in theater is not taken seriously, and it is often seen that the translation of the play is changed several times by the director to get the drama on the stage. According to the same source, it is pointed out in the translation of drama, it “has to suit the playwright, the needs of the actor, the director, and the reader/audience” (Chan, 2004, as cited in Suh, 2005, p. 64). This means that there are two steps to drama translation: First, the original text is translated to the target language according to the culture and customs of that language, and then the translation undergoes changes by the translator and the expert in the field of theater to get that translation of the drama onto the stage. The first translation is used in the literary system and it is in hardcopy only for reading. But another translation is used in the theatrical system which is going on the stage, and somehow it can be said that it is the translation going on the stage. In this way, you will find that there are differences between these two types of translations.

The most important feature of the drama on stage is its performance, also called performability. Performability can easily be seen in the two types of translation that have been said. But its definition in these two types of translation is quite different and the translation of the drama is not exactly something to be performed on stage. As mentioned above, changes take place when a translated play goes on stage. Changes usually depend on the location/place, time, and also how to perform the translation of original plays on the theater stage of that country. (Aaltonen, 2000, as cited in Suh, 2005) mentioned that “theatre translation is more tied to immediate context than literary translation as experience in the theatre is both collective and immediate. Unlike readers, who can take their time in forming their reading of a text, a theatre audience functions as an item in a severely restricted time and place” (p. 40). Drama translation on Pages and the stages have their particular addressees: readers and spectators. In this case, he stated that “readers who are committed to learning more about another culture may have no problem with translated novels that offer explanations in footnotes or that inspire them to research unfamiliar references. Spectators in the theatre must grasp immediately the sense of the dialogue” (Zatlin, 2005, p. 1).

Kowzan's Model; Thirteen Theatrical systems

(Aaltonen, 2000, as cited in Eslamieh & Bahrami, 2019) stated that “In theatre, for every performance of a text, several different readings of the same text are possible: Playwrights, translators, stage directors, dress and set designers, sound and light technicians, as well as actors all, contribute to the creation of theatre text when they move into them and make them their own” (p.32).

In stage translation, the message and the concept of that play should be transferred to the audiences completely and without any shortcomings. (Spadaccini & Talens, 1993, as cited in Shahba, Ameri, & Laal, 2011) explaining Kowzan's model stated that there was no change in meaning in the translation transfer process from the page to stage, and only the signifiers changed. To explain this issue, Mirinis (1993) offered an example: “The system that Kowzan (1968) defines as facial mime represents a class of elements that share the same signifying medium (the expressive continuum of the human face) and are thus available various types of simultaneous sign correlations. At the same time, however, this system seems to be presented as a full-fledged code (we could call it the mime code) capable even of forming different materials from the continuum of the human face, for example, those proper to various types of mask” (p.102).

According to the same source, it is stated that “Kowzan identifies thirteen basic theatrical systems including language, tone, facial mime, gesture, movement, make-up, hairstyle, costume, props, décor, lighting, music and sound effects” (Robert, 2009, p. 25).

Table 1

Thirteen Basic Theatrical Systems Proposed by Kowzan (1968)

As you can see in the table, Kowzan introduced thirteen theatrical systems and categorized them in a way that each of them relates to one or both of the factors in a theater (time and place). The reason for choosing this theatrical system was that there is no newer version of this framework and the author intends to determine a specific version for theatrical performances in Iran through this research.

3. Methodology

The design of this research is mixed- methods. To find the result of the differences between the translation on page and stage, its reasons, and the ways to avoid these differences, a qualitative method is used. Because the answers to these questions and their processing are done and interpreted by the researcher. Likewise, the quantitative method is used to obtain which theatrical systems have a higher frequency among the others. In this way, some analysis programs such as SPSS must be used. In order to find out the frequency, descriptive statistics are calculated to obtain the frequency of the desired theatrical system in Kowzan's framework. The corpora of this study are the translation of Macbeth drama, its original text, and the video clip of the theatrical performance of Macbeth to compare it with the translated text containing dialogues mentioned on the stage. The book is a collection of the original text of Macbeth’s drama and its translation by Dariush Ashouri translated this drama so beautifully. And the theatrical performance of Macbeth, directed by Dr. Alireza Bonyadi, was held in Shiraz in 1397. To conduct the research, the whole book and the video clip of the performance were compared to obtain a complete analysis of the play and its translation. The reasons for choosing Macbeth are the researcher's interest in Shakespeare works and the performance of this great play, which performed with the least flaws, and in previous years such a classical performance had not been held in Shiraz, which is as large as Macbeth. And this is the last theatrical performance that has been performed in Iran under the name of Macbeth.

3.1 Data Analysis

For the data analysis, the entire performance of this theater is considered and examined according to Kowzan's thirteen theatrical systems, divided into five categories. The monologue and dialogue of the performance of the actors will be compared with the translated text to understand which one of the 5 categories proposed by Kowzan is used more on the stage. To find out which one of the theatrical systems has more frequency in theatrical performance, descriptive statistics using SPSS version 26 will be run. First, the translated text on pages is compared with the translation performed on the stage to determine the differences between the two translations. The differences are classified according to the five categories of Kowzan's theatrical systems and placed in their tables. Then, the reasons for each of these differences are described separately and completely. After explaining the reasons, the frequency of differences in each category is calculated by the SPSS analysis program and then displayed in a pie chart.

4. Results

According to the thirteen theatrical systems introduced by Kowzan (1968), the differences between drama translation and the performance of Macbeth are examined. For ease of use, these thirteen theatrical systems are classified into five categories so that the differences in the text of the translated drama with its theatrical performance have been examined in specific time intervals according to these five categories. In this way, the monologue and dialogue of the actors' performance will be compared with the translated text to understand which one of the five categories proposed by Kowzan is used more on the stage.

4.1 Spoken Text

4.1.1 Sentences and phrases placed between hyphens or parentheses are omitted.

Table 2

Omission of sentences and phrases placed between hyphens or parentheses

Table 2 reveals sentences and phrases that are placed between dashes or parentheses which mean an additional explanation for that particular sentence omitted from stage translation because they make sentences longer and not understandable for the audiences. Another reason for their omission is that these phrases or sentences create a space between the components of a sentence. So, omitting them from stage translation will not cause any problems for the actor or even audiences, and on the contrary, it will make the actor comfortable and the audiences will understand the dialogue correctly.

 4.1.2 Sentences, dialogues, and scenes that are not related to the main storyline are omitted.

Table 3

Omission of sentences, dialogues, and scenes that are not related to the storyline regarding spoken text

Table 3. indicates that sentences, dialogues, and scenes that have nothing to do with the storyline of the play, have no place in the translation of stage. These parts omit to shorten the showtime, stick to the mainline story, and prevent the audience from getting tired. In Macbeth's theater performance, it was seen that even a few scenes of an act were omitted from the translation of stage because it had nothing to do with the mainline of the story

4.1.3 Words, phrases, sentences, and dialogues that do not play a role in the Iranian theatre are omitted or changed into the other ones.

Table 4

Omission or changing in words, phrases, sentences and dialogues regarding spoken text

Table 4 reveals that the reasons for these omissions and changes are that theater is rooted in the Iranian culture and customs, and such words and sentences can have no place in the Iranian theater, and also the use of these obscene words during the performance may not be attractive to the audience.

4.1.4 Sentences and dialogues that are complex and difficult to say are changed into the other ones.

Table 5

Change in sentences and dialogues regarding spoken text

According to Table 5, sentences and dialogues with complex and challenging structures may cause problems for the actors during the performance, so that they have difficulty performing that dialogue and conveying its meaning to the audience. On the other hand, the audience does not understand that dialogue and its meaning. So, such sentences and dialogues are changed. Changes are mainly made in correcting sentence components and replacing them with other dialogues.

4.1.5 Long dialogues give way to shorts ones.

Table 6 

Changing dialogues to short ones regarding spoken text

Table 6 indicates that some of the dialogues in the play are important and, at the same time, very long. So, to avoid deleting these dialogues, they give way to shorter dialogues that convey the same concept to the audience precisely. Another reason for shortening these dialogues, though important, is the length of the performance because the most critical challenge for a theater director is the length of the performance and also get the complete theater performance on the stage in the shortest possible time.

4.1.6 Dialogues, scenes and even acts from the show that prolong the time and are redundant and give additional explanations are omitted.

Table 7

Omission of dialogues, scenes and acts that prolong the time of the performance regarding spoken text

As Table 7 shows, parts of the play that merely prolong the time of the performance and do not flub it, have no place in the translation of the stage. It can be said that the largest number of omissions of a play occurs in this section. The sections whose deleted here, do not cause a problem in the stage translation. In this way, the main storyline gets more important than before, and it is not scattered. Another reason that can be stated here is that the omission of these parts makes audiences always focus on the main storyline, especially the character of Macbeth.

4.1.7 The tone of the actor’s voice when saying the dialogues

Table 8

The tone of the actor’s voice colored the dialogues

Table 8 reveals that the way an actor says dialogue can determine the nature of that dialogue. For this reason, the difference between the translation on page and stage can be to enliven the dialogue. In addition to beautifying the play, it can also affect the time of the performance. For example, one dialogue being expressed slowly in one scene and another dialogue in another scene is expressed angrily and very quickly. In this way, the pace of expressing dialogues affects the time of the performance.

4.2 Body Expression

4.2.1 Sentences or dialogues that are omitted from stage translation by acting with body movement.

Table 9

Omission regarding body movement

Table 9 reveals that actors can remove a series of dialogues from the play with their body movements. In this case, the beauty of the performance improved. The audience sees the performance because, in addition to hearing the dialogues that they can read in the physical play, they see the play's characters on the stage with their acts. So, body movements cause a series of translations to be omitted on stage.

4.2.2 Sentences and dialogues that change as a result of the acting with body movement.

Table 10

Changing dialogues regarding body movement

Table 10 shows that some dialogues can be changed using body movement, as they cannot be omitted because they are essential. So the actors somehow play that dialogue instead of saying it. This reduces the amount of dialogue between the actors and also adds to the beauty of the show.

4.3 Stage Appearance

4.3.1 Stage design that causes changes and omission in stage translation.

Table 11

Change and omission regarding stage appearance

 4.3.2 Stage design that ignores setting in the performance.

Table 12

Ignoring setting in performance regarding stage appearance

As tables 11 and 12 show, the design intended for the stage may omit or change sentences and even dialogues of the play when it goes on the stage. It may cause the settings of the play to be overlooked and the audiences get confused. There are two possible reasons for these differences in the discussion of the stage appearance. The stages on which such plays are usually performed there, do not have the capacity for a play of the grandeur of Macbeth, and this causes the various settings in the performance to be ignored and even changed. Another reason is the budget spent on a show. Of course, when a lot of money is not set aside for work, it is not possible to bring a large stage design to the theater stage, and the whole show is performed with only one stage design, which can be compensated to some extent only by changing the stage light.

4.4 Actor external appearance

Table 13

Actors’ appearance

Table 13 deals with the clothes, hairstyle of actors. An actor's costume and make-up reflect his character on the theater stage. In fact, audiences can see the inner character of an actor in the show by seeing his clothes and makeup. This is one of the most important topics of translation on stage, where the director and the actors show the inner character only with his clothes and make-up on the stage. Without even saying a dialogue by actor, the costume and makeup express the character on stage.

4.5 Inarticulate sound

4.5.1 Music played in the backgrounds of different scenes.

Table 14

Music added to the dialogues regarding inarticulate sounds

4.5.2 Some sound effects played in different scenes.

Table 15

Sounds effect added to the dialogues regarding inarticulate sounds

Tables 14 and 15 indicate that, some scenes of shows contain positive and negative dialogue, and music is used to convey these negative and positive dialogues to the audiences. Music related to those scenes and dialogues to be sung is selected and played. This makes audiences better understand the scene and better connect with the sadness or joy of the scene and the dialogue. In scenes, the use of sound effects is very effective because it shows audiences where this scene is happening. This topic is another important factor of translation on stage, which helps the audiences to better understand and has an impact on the beauty of the show.

5. Conclusion

With the comparative study of the translation of Macbeth's play on pages and stage, it was revealed that there were some differences in the translation of the play when it was performed on stage. According to the framework (Kowzan’s Theatrical Systems) considered for this research, these differences were seen in 5 categories, which are Spoken text, Expression of Body, Appearance of Stage, Actors External Appearance, and Inarticulate Sounds. For this research, several questions were asked which were answered by analyzing the differences in translation on pages and stage, as well as the researcher's research on this discussion. According to the results given by the researcher, by comparing the translation of Macbeth's play on the page and stage, it was found that the differences occur in the five categories of Kowzan’s theatrical systems. After comparing the translated text on pages and the translation finally performed on the stage, the researcher concluded that the spoken text (40.00%) and the stage appearance (24.29%) made the highest difference between the translated text on pages and translation on the stage. And after these two, the body expression (14.29%), the inarticulate sound (11.43%), and finally the actors’ external appearance (10.00%), respectively, have played a role in the differences between the translation on pages and stage. It can be said that the main reason for these omissions and changes is the time component.

Table 16

The Frequencies of the differences in Macbeth’ drama According to the five categoies of Kowzan’s Model

Figure 1. The Frequencies of the differences in Macbeth’ drama According to five category of Kowzan’s Model.

The researcher concluded that to perform a play translated from the source on the stage, there are differences in translation on pages and stage, which lead to some changes depending on a series of components (Time, Budget, and place). But there was a very important issue that became clear after this research was done showing that these kinds of plays on stage without those differences would be very difficult and costly, and it would not keep the audience satisfied as well.

According to the results of this piece of research conducted by the researcher, it is not possible to perform a play on stage without differences in translation on pages and stage. Because of those three reasons for the differences (time, budget, and place), the translated text may not reflect the factors that must be performed on stage and the translated text can be changed by the director or translator in order to perform on stage. Therefore, it is necessary to apply the differences between the translation on paper and stage so that the show could be performed on stage without any problems.

6. Implications of the study

This research is based on Kowzan's theory of theatrical systems. According to this theory, Kowzan identified thirteen theatrical systems that include word, tone, mime, gesture, movement, makeup, hairstyle, costume, props, Décor, lighting, music, and sound effect which were divided into five categories. This research helps improve the quality of translation, especially the translation of the play. Other reasons for doing this research include strengthening the actor's relationship with the text. The actor can play his role in such a way as to perform exactly the feeling that should be conveyed to the audiences on stage. So, this allows audiences to understand the play better. This study helps material writers to include materials that raise the level of awareness of readers, especially the students of the English translation. These writers can research plays and their translation methods and then address them in their writings. Professors who teach in the field of translation will become more familiar with how to teach about the translation of a play, the issues, and the ways of play translation. In this way, in the future, we will see good stage translators and well-performed translations on the stage. And finally, Students who study language translation and are also active in this field, deal with the issues and differences between pages and stage translation weigh them and will do a proper translation for the stage performance.