The Barbican, pioneers of the Do Something Different campaign, are doing precisely that. In celebration of their 25th anniversary, 25 landmark events are running throughout 2007 showcasing theatre and dance from around the globe. Opening tonight and running for a week is the early Chekhov play Platonov, performed by the critically acclaimed Maly Drama Theatre of St Petersburg - with the addition of subtitles.
The play is set on a grand estate, complete with a giant swimming pool and onstage fireworks, and concerns the life of Chekhov's anti-hero, Platonov, who is trapped in a web of love and confusion. According to the Barbican website, the production "oozes authentic Russian spirit". Largely due, I'd imagine, to the fact that the cast is comprised of - let's see - native Russians speaking... ahem... Russian on stage.
Although I can understand that watching a play in its original language contributes to its authenticity, it is after all as the playwright envisioned it; can one really appreciate the play if they don't speak the said language? Subtitles on the screen are one thing but surely the variable and physical nature of live performance is less suited to automated translations.
Or maybe, as Gwyn Topham has suggested in a blog on foreign film success, will we enjoy it more because we are less able to judge the performance? Does limited understanding perpetuate cultural acclaim?
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