ABSTRACT
In light of Luigi Pirandello’s difficulties in self-translating his play, this chapter explains the conceptual node of theatre as translation by offering a systematic three-fold assessment of the way in which Liola has been adapted in terms of genre, language, and culture. It examines the alternations which occur to the play’s innate sense of sicilianita in the most recent translation of Liola: an English translation by Tanya Ronder. Although the unorthodox plot was certainly responsible for the critical reaction, it could equally well be argued that what actually caused the ‘gap’ between Liola and its audience was Pirandello’s use of dialect. In addition to reducing the formality between Liola and Mita in the Italian version, Pirandello significantly condenses the portrayal of their love scene. Manuela Perteghella identifies various strategies for theatrical transposition of dialect and slang, and Liola fits in well with her definition of a parallel dialect translation.
