Classic adaptations don’t need to be relevant
sir – Commenting on the BBC’S adaptation of The Woman in White (Culture, May 1), Michael Hogan says that “the drawbacks of modernisation are outweighed by the contemporary resonance it provides”.
Those who make a religion of trying to ensure that every piece of classic drama is meaningful in today’s world would do well to consider the writer Gregory Motton, who translated August Strindberg’s play Easter some 10 years ago. Motton said: “We can set the play somewhere else, dress the play up in different clothes, adjust the meaning of the text until it says something we want it to say, alter it until it coincides with what we happen to think at that particular time. It’s called ‘making it relevant today’...
“In this translation from the Swedish, I have kept as close as I can to the meaning of the style of the original language.”
That’s the way to do it.
Edward Thomas
Eastbourne, East Sussex