The Teacher of Multiple Translations

August 27, 2008 8:31 PM

Which translation/adaptation/version of Carlo Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters should my high school students perform?

I've been looking around at the usual websites (amazon.com, samuelfrench.com, and dramatists.com) and have found a big pile of different versions. The only one I've read is Edward J. Dent's translation. It's good, but maybe there's a stronger option out there? None of the websites seem to be letting me read sample pages. Any advice you have, or even any observation you might want to make about the character of a given translation, is greatly appreciated.

Some hints:
- I'm in the U.S., so an American English translation would be ideal.
- I liked the Dent translation, but wonder if there might be a shorter version out there.
- I'm open to doing an "adaptation" of the piece that might play openly with the original script.

Thanks for your help!

posted by HeroZero to Education (1 answer total)

I worked for the Globe Theatre in Saskatchewan during the season they presented Servant. I just checked their website and they used a translation by Tom Crone. It was an SRO success over the two week run. I don't know how students would find it to put on, but the Globe's audience (400 per night each night of the run) loved every minute.
posted by angiep at 12:28 PM on August 31, 2008