Slovene drama in new translations

Books presentation: Cankar Goes West and Slovenian Theater Post Independence

An event presenting the international outreach of Slovenian drama: two book presentations with discussions. 

The Project Cankar Goes West

The complete plays of Ivan Cankar are now available in the English language for the first time. 

The project Cankar Goes West is a collaborative effort between Prešeren Theatre Kranj in Slovenia and the Crane Creations Theatre Company, a professional theatre company in Canada led by Slovenian-born theatre director Andreja Kovač. 

The project aims to expand the readership of and grow the audience for the works of the "father of Slovenian drama", playwright Ivan Cankar (1876–1918), by translating, publishing, distributing and promoting Cankar’s complete playwriting opus of seven plays: Romantic Souls, Jakob Ruda, Lackeys, King of Betajnova, Beautiful Vida, Depravity in St. Florian Valley and For the Good of the Nation. The plays will be published both in print and digital format. The luxuriously designed limited edition hardcover print version has only four hundred copies making it a prized possession for collectors of rare books. The more accessible softcover and e-books will be available on Amazon. 

Ivan Cankar – the undiscovered Eastern European Henrik Ibsen, is regarded as the greatest playwright in the Slovene language and his work was instrumental in the formation of the Slovenian national identity. Accompanying the books is a timeline of the historical events influencing Cankar’s work and leading to the creation of the independent Slovenian state and photography from various productions of Cankar’s work in theatres across Slovenia. Thematically, the plays tackle political corruption, greed, truth and morality outlined in complex characters and plotlines akin to the works of Anton Chekhov.

The acclaimed literary translators who made this project a reality are Michael Biggins, Rawley Grau, Jason and Alenka Blake, Tina Mahkota and Tom Priestly.

This project is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia..

Andreja Kovač will present the project.

Rosalina Perales: Slovenian Theater Post Independence/Teatro Post Independencia de Eslovenia

The book Slovenian Theater Post Independence/Teatro Post Independencia de Eslovenia (2020) includes three modern Slovenian plays in English and Spanish translations. The plays include the works by Matjaž Zupančič – The Corridor, Evald Flisar – Comedy about the End of the World, and Simona Semenič – 5.Boys.com. Rosalina Perales did the translations from English to Spanish and also contributed an incisive essay about Slovenian playwriting history from 1993 to 2019. The 753-page book was published by Escenología Ediciones in Mexico.

Rosalina Perales is a Puerto Rican researcher, historian and critic who retired from the University of Puerto Rico. She did her doctoral studies in Europe, the United States and Latin America, where she publishes regularly. Since 1987, she has dedicated her research to performing arts, especially that in Latin American countries. She has published two volumes about this topic: Hispanic American Theatre I and II, and numerous essays and articles. In other books, she focuses on Puerto Rican theatre (in Puerto Rico and the United States), theatrical biographies, anthologies, translations and children’s theatre. She founded and directed Bambalinas, the first journal of the Drama Department at the University of Puerto Rico, and also the department’s Seminar for Theater Research. She founded and directs a cultural organisation and company for the production of bilingual theatre. Her books, research, essays and short stories have received awards in Puerto Rico and abroad. In 2014, she published the novel Hasta que tú decidas regresar. In 2017, she was a Fulbright Scholar and studied the theatre of Slovenia and other countries of former Yugoslavia in situ. 

Rosalina Perales will be in conversation with Rok Andres.

Photo gallery