拉提根之谜（2011）

(Marlene Dietrich玛莲娜·迪特里茜著名美裔德国演员兼歌♥手)
戏剧的前二十分钟演得非常非常快
The first 20 minutes of the play went very, very quickly.
演员们紧张到极点
The actors were incredibly nervous.
这部剧的导演哈罗德·弗兰奇在他的包厢里不住的发抖
Harold French, the director cowered in his box
他真的很怕观众们退场
for fear that it would all run away from them.
好在最终演员们稳住了阵脚
But eventually they found their feet,
观众们也因这部剧迷人的
and the audience were completely beguiled by
魅力而倾倒
the magic charms of the play.
演出结束时 在观众们高呼数次”编剧 编剧”之后
And at the end, after many cries of “author, author”,
弗兰奇在剧院的后面发现了拉提根
French went to the back of the theatre and found Rattigan
凭墙而立 脸色发青
pressed against the wall, green with nerves,
不过还是说服了他并把他拉到了舞台上
and eventually persuaded to drag him onto the stage
让他接受观众的喝彩
where he took his acclaim.
《法文课》首演的成功
The first-night success of
受到了剧院方面的肯定
French Without Tears was confirmed.
剧院挤满了
The theatre was packed with
兴高采烈的观众 每晚如此
delighted audiences every night.
这部剧上演了超过一千场
The play ran for more than a thousand performances.
巨大的商业成功
This huge commercial success
标志着拉提根剧作家生涯的开始
launched Rattigan’s career as a playwright.
使他名利双收
He now had money and fame.
在《法文课》大获成功之后
After the success of French Without Tears,
拉提根开始像一些写手一样 酗酒
Rattigan embarked on a writer’s round of drinking,
沉迷于聚会和赌桌
parties, gambling,
周♥旋♥于数位迷人的年轻男子之间
and a slew of affairs with attractive young men.
这段骄奢淫逸的生活似乎并没有激发他新的创作灵感
All this living the high life didn’t inspire any new work,
也许也仅仅是到了一个剧作家的瓶颈期
and whether it was simply that, or a writer’s block,
过了好几年
it would be a couple of years before
拉提根才写了下一部剧
Rattigan wrote another play.
而他写出来的下一部作品
And when he did, it would turn out
是一部严肃的正剧
to be a far more serious drama.
《跳舞之后》背景设定在1938年
After The Dance is set in 1938,
焦点聚集在二十世纪二十年代年轻聪明的一代
but looks at the 1920s generation of bright young things
年华不再时
who, although no longer bright or young,
还像年轻时一样醉生梦死
insist on partying just like in the good old days.
《跳舞之后》
BBC电视电影
我现在十分想重重地拍你的玉臀
I’ve a good mind to slap you very hard indeed.
来呀 拍吧 我也会拍回去的 呃
Go on. Slap away, and I’ll slap back. Ooh!
故事围绕着
At the centre of this world is
一个嗜酒如命的历史学家 大卫·斯科特-福勒展开
the hard-drinking historian, David Scott-Fowler.
他的妻子琼没有向他表明
Joan, his wife, is unable to tell David
她到底有多爱他
the true depth of her feelings for him,
尽管那天的早些时候
even though, earlier that day,
她发现自己的丈夫爱上了别人
she has discovered he is in love with someone else.
我庆幸的是我们从未
I’m glad we never made the mistake
犯下相恋这种错事
of falling in love with each other.
有时候我想我们这样没有爱情才是婚姻的基础
Sometimes I think ours is the best basis of all for marriage.
也许吧
Perhaps it is.
这样对我们都好 不是吗
It’s worked for us, hasn’t it?
也许如果我们彼此相恋的话
It might have worked even better
这段婚姻会更美好
if we’d fallen in love with each other,
就像你和海伦一样相恋
like you and Helen.
那根本那就是两回事
That’s something different altogether.
我也不能肯定我爱海伦这个人
I’m not even sure that I…like Helen as a person.
我爱她和爱你的方式不一样
Not in the way I like you.
我知道我爱她 那是说不清道不明的
I know that I love her. That’s something I can’t explain.
不能承受眼睁睁的看着自己的丈夫离开 琼选择了自杀
Unable to face her husband leaving, Joan commits suicide
从他们公♥寓♥的阳台上跳了下来
by jumping from the balcony of their flat.
这里体现的拉提根戏剧的主题
Rattigan’s theme here,
不对等的感情
of unequal feelings within relationships,
在他的其他作品中也多次体现
returns many times in his work.
去年(2010年)我在国家剧院扮演
When rehearsing and performing David Scott-Fowler
大卫·斯科特-福勒一角时
at the National last year,
我的发现之一是搞清楚了(剧本中)那详尽的舞台说明
one of the discoveries was how the intensity of this drama
是如何增强了戏剧的紧张感的
was amplified by the detailed stage directions.
拉提根是表演的福音
Rattigan is a joy to perform.
他是个十分照顾演员的剧作家
He’s a very actor-friendly writer.
这一点在他剧本的结构中体现得非常明显
It’s very clear, in the structure of his plays,
剧中人物的情感轨迹
what the character’s emotional arc
都在一晚上的过程中得以体现
is over the course of the evening,
所以没有比拉提根剧本上的
and nowhere is that more in evidence
说明更清楚的了
than in his stage directions,
真的是心思缜密
which can be sublimely subtle.
也许是一回首
It could be a turn of the head,
也许是拿起一支烟
it could be the taking up of a cigarette,
换一张唱片
the changing of a record,
以动作来体现难以言喻的情感
all of which speak for unspoken emotions,
以及潜台词和内心感受
and words and thoughts.
现在我想和大家分享一下
And I wanted to share one with you that happens
拉提根在《跳舞之后》最后一幕的舞台说明
at the end of After The Dance.
之前的一幕是
In the previous act,
大卫的妻子从阳台
David’s wife, Joan, has committed suicide
自杀 嗯 这时到了最后一幕
by throwing herself off the balcony, and, this last scene,
大卫一个人在舞台上
David’s left alone on stage.
大卫走近窗户 迟疑了一小会
“David goes to the window, hesitates a moment,
(此段为拉提根所写的舞台说明)
然后踏上了阳台
and then steps out on to the balcony.”
仿佛用尽了全部的力气一般
“As if making a terrific effort,
他缓缓地前倾身体向下看去
he slowly leans over and looks down.”
他在那个位置站了几秒钟
“He stays in that position for a few seconds,
然后走回了房♥间
and then steps back into the room,
合上了阳台的窗户
closing the window after him.”
对我而言 此时无声胜有声
That, for me, said everything in that moment
大卫·斯科特-福勒意识到了他的错误
about what David Scott-Fowler understood to be his fault –
他造成了他妻子的死 以及他是如何面对
the death of his wife, and how he was coming to terms
妻子选择自杀这一现实
with the reality of what she’d done
通过扫视阳台 他看到的也是他自己的未来
by looking over that balcony and facing his own future,
尘归尘 土归土 终究是会死亡
of pretty certain death by going back to the bottle.
真的是太棒了
It’s amazing stuff.
《跳舞之后》首次公演是在1939年六月
After The Dance first opened in June 1939.
但战争逼近 观众逐渐流失
But war was looming. Audiences dropped off,
在上演了六周之后不得不停演了
and the play had to close after just six weeks,
最近我们又重新制♥作♥了这部剧
and, until our recent production,
因为这部佳作被人遗忘太久了
was rather a forgotten play.
我去了大英图书馆
I’ve come to the British Library,
那里收藏了大量的拉提根的信件和手稿
where many of Rattigan’s letters and manuscripts are kept.
为他编纂传记的迈克尔·达罗
His biographer, Michael Darlow,
非常熟悉这些资料
knows this material intimately.
我向他请教了拉提根在《跳舞之后》
I asked him what happened to Rattigan
意外的早早停演之后所经历的事
when After The Dance closed unexpectedly early.
在《跳舞之后》 拉提根实际上陷入了
After After The Dance, he got what, in effect,
创作的瓶颈期
was a writer’s block
那段时期后来被他自己描述为
which he actually later himself described
弦断之期 他完全无法创作
as a nervous breakdown, and he really couldn’t write.
他向他的精神科医生进行了咨♥询♥
And he consulted this psychiatrist,
医生建议他去
who advised him to, um…
成为一名公务人员 切实去体验公务
get into the services and see some active service.
紧接着战争爆发
Following the outbreak of war,
有成千上万的志愿者
there was a huge surge of volunteers
想要参军去对抗希♥特♥勒♥
wanting to join up and fight Hitler.
拉提根想加入英国皇家空军
Rattigan wanted to join the RAF,
但竞争十分激烈
but the competition was fierce.
按他的条件本来是进不了空军的
He wouldn’t have got into the Air Force,
而考官席中的一位考官突然叫道
but the interview board… Suddenly one of them said,
哦 原来写了《法文课》的那个小伙子就是你
“Oh, you’re the chap who wrote French Without Tears!”
就这样拉提根得以进入空军
And so he got accepted for the Air Force.
哦 天哪 呃 我是说 多谢长官
Oh, boy! Er… I mean, thanks very much, sir.
所以他以公务员的身份开始了军事训练
And he then launched into his training as an officer,
成为一名空军投炮手和电报员
air-gunner, radio operator, and he writes this letter,
在训练的早期他给他父亲写了这封信
fairly early in his training, to his father,
信中提及了为了使得电报机正常工作
and describes the huge concentration required