Translation, memory, and cultural (re)soundings between Ireland and Florianópolis
the case of An Old Song, Half Forgotten, by Deirdre Kinahan
DOI:
10.58967/caletroscopio.v14.n1.2026.8408Keywords:
Theatre translation, Sonic dramaturgy, Cultural adaptation, Memory and performanceAbstract
This paper examines the role of sound as a dramaturgical system in Deirdre Kinahan’s An Old Song, Half Forgotten and in a Brazilian adaptation set in Florianópolis. It argues that memory in the play is structured less by narrative continuity than by musical motifs, silence and auditory fragmentation. Thus, the study compares selected scenes from the source text and the translation in order to analyse how sound, space and cultural references were reconfigured in relocation. Drawing on work by Christopher Small (1998), Don Ihde (2007), Marvin Carlson (2003), Erika Fischer-Lichte (2008) and Gayatri Spivak (1993), the article reflects on alternatives to equivalence-based models. It shows that musical translation operates as dramaturgical intervention, reshaping how memory, place and identity are perceived in performance.
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References
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