A commentary on the translation of Hay Fever

Abstract

This article is a commentary on the translation of a British play, Hay Fever, and the discussion focuses on the issue of performability. The paper argues that the performability of a translated play is achievable and identifies the essential criteria for performability. With the explanation of some examples selected from the translation, it concludes that a translated play text is able to be performed if it has colloquial, idiomatic and natural language, reveals the subtexts and fills the cultural gaps.