Literary adaptation for the stage

In theatre and performance studies, adaptation usually implies revising, devising, or interpreting a previously written text for the stage. Scholarly and practical considerations about the implications of adaptation in recent years have proliferated; as Thomas Leitch asserts, “After years of being stuck in the backwaters of the academy, adaptation studies is on the move.” ¹ And yet, as he acknowledges, “the field is still haunted by the notion that adaptations ought to be faithful to their ostensible sourcetexts.” ² Most of this scholarship in adaptation studies addresses cinematic adaptations, however; if the stage is considered at all, it is typically referenced as a step in the evolutionary path toward the film version. This is a remarkable omission, especially if we accept Maya Roth’s claim that “[t]here is no theatre without some act of translation and adaptation.” ³ When the stage is considered in adaptation scholarship, writers usually reflect on the process they followed in adapting and/or directing the production, with strikingly infrequent references to dramaturgy at all. While exceptions to this pattern certainly exist, few scholars (or practitioners) have considered the important intersection (or even intervention) of dramaturgy into adaptation studies. Vincent Murphy’s 2013 book, Page to Stage: The Craft of Adaptation barely mentions dramaturgy (or contextual research, for that matter) at all; instead, Murphy creates a step-by-step guide for novice adapters of literature for the stage, with a cursory reference to the dramaturg as one of many potential collaborators in this process. ⁴