Contemporary Playwriting and Theatre Translation Cultures in Europe: A Report on Current Systems, Conventions and Perceptions

Commissioned by the EU-funded project, Fabulamundi: Playwriting Europe Beyond Borders, this report assesses current practices, perceptions and norms in the field of contemporary playwriting and the translation of contemporary plays in nine different European countries: Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and the U.K. Mapping different national ecologies, structures and traditions enabling the production and mobility of plays through the use of questionnaires and one-to-one interviews with key stakeholders in each context, the report presents qualitative and quantitative data gathered on how each theatre culture supports living dramatists, how it organises its education system, what conventions drive the production and translation of contemporary plays, and what perceptions are held by gatekeepers, theatre-makers and other cultural operators about the theatre system in which they work. Drawing on the existing network of partners, venues, playwrights, translators, directors and performers working with the Fabulamundi network, I evaluate and compare cultural practices and institutional habits in the field, and conclude with a list of best practices for a sustainable field.