拉提根之谜（2011）

“亲爱的 那太晦涩难懂
‘so obscure, my dear,
再说了 为什么总抓着事物的阴暗面不放呢”
and why always look at the dark side of things?’
她也不喜欢毕加索
she is upset by Picasso –
亲爱的 这些红色让人难受 而且为什么会有三个鼻子
‘those dreadful reds, my dear, and why three noses?’
她也不喜欢沃尔顿
and she is against Walton –
亲爱的 那真是可怕的噪音啊 毫无旋律可言
‘such appalling discords, my dear, and no melody at all’.”
总之 她是个文化修养浅薄到无可救药的人
“She is, in short, a hopeless lowbrow, and the great
最杰出的小说家 绘画大♥师♥ 还有作曲天才
novelist, the master painter, and the composer of genius
这些人她都不屑一顾
are, and can afford to be as disregarding of
因为她品味低俗 不懂得欣赏大♥师♥的作品
her tastes as she is unappreciative of their works.”
很不幸的 类似这种情况 剧作家
“Not so, unhappily, the playwright,
也因不对艾德娜阿姨的胃口而满盘皆输
for should he displease Aunt Edna, he is utterly lost.”
亲爱的 这真是太无趣了
“‘Oh, it was so dull, my dears.
还是别去看了吧
Don’t think of going to it at all.'”
对白太多 动作又太少
“‘So much talk. So little action!
还看不清演员的脸
So difficult to see the actors’ faces,
剧院的茶水还是凉的
and even the tea was cold.'”
呃
Ugh!
艾德娜阿姨是一个虚构的没心没肺的人物
Aunt Edna was intended as a light-hearted creation,
但这个人物很快被认为是
but she quickly came to be seen
拉提根本人的代名词
as synonymous with Rattigan himself.
拉提根又一次为自己贴上了
Yet again, Rattigan had helped to pigeonhole himself
这样的标签 作风老派
as belonging to a rather old-fashioned,
才智过人 擅长商业戏剧 这真是宏伟的个人目标啊
light, commercial theatre – a spectacular own goal.
但在他的下一步戏中 拉提根又一次
But in his next play, Rattigan would once again
展现了他更为严肃的一面
display his more serious side.
《鸳鸯谱》探讨了诚实地
Separate Tables explored the difficulties
去表达性♥欲♥的困难 这部作品1954年首演
of honest sexual expression. It opened in 1954,
两年后又被改编为了斩获多个奖项的电影
and two years later was made into an award-winning film.
其中一个主要角色
One of the central characters,
市长 由大卫·尼文扮演
played in the film by David Niven, is the major.
我真心觉得她很在乎你
I rather think you mean a lot to her.
他被揭发是一个因在电影院
He’s uncovered as a fraud who has been arrested
猥亵妇女而曾入狱的骗子
for molesting women in a local cinema.
一个人极想尝试
One’s awfully apt to try
赫克特-希尔-兰开斯特影业出品
德尔伯特·曼导演
《鸳鸯谱》
为自己开脱时会这么说
and excuse oneself sometimes by saying,
我的所作所为也不会给别人造成什么伤害
“Well, what I do doesn’t do anybody else much harm.”
但是有人真这么做了知道吗 这种想法
But one does, you see, and it’s not a thought
我不太喜欢
that I like very much.
还是别误了火车吧 行吗
Well, mustn’t miss the old train, what, what?
在拉提根的初稿中
In Rattigan’s original script,
市长侵犯的是同性
the major’s offence was a homosexual one,
而拉提根又一次将之调整
but again Rattigan toned it down
一来避免被内务大臣的否决
to avoid the Lord Chamberlain’s blue pencil
二来可以吸引主流的观众群
and appeal to a mainstream audience.
对同性恋的不理解及报复性的
Paranoia about homosexuality had re-emerged
举措在二战后以及冷战初期
with a vengeance after the Second World War
又开始出现
and the beginning of the Cold War,
当时出现了有组织性的驱赶罪孽的男同性恋的运动
and there was a concerted drive against male vice,
一时间许多人锒铛入狱
with a huge increase in arrests.
一系列臭名昭著的同性丑闻使得二十世纪
The early 1950s were characterised by a series
五十年代早期明显区别于其他时代
of notorious homosexual scandals.
名流富豪成为众矢之的
The rich and the famous became targets,
其中包括约翰·吉尔古德爵士 当时首屈一指的
including Sir John Gielgud, the foremost classical actor
古装宫廷片演员 他因含糊的流氓罪被捕
of his generation. He was arrested for gross indecency.
他的出庭和被捕在花边小报上
His court appearance and arrest caused a sensation
掀起了狂风暴雨 媒体的曝光
in the tabloid press, and the exposure
使得他的名誉和事业都收到了影响
risked his both reputation and his career.
法官罚他十英镑 并要他去看病
The judge fined him ￡10 and told him to see a doctor.
媒体关注的都是这种事
With such stories hitting the press, it was
也难怪拉提根会觉得在他的作品中
understandable that Rattigan should feel constrained
描绘同性恋关系压力巨大
about addressing homosexuality in his work.
但到了1956年 英国的大众心态开始变化
But by 1956, the social mood in Britain was changing,
很有讽刺意味的是 在伦敦西区的商业戏剧之外
and, ironically, a more overt theatre was emerging,
出现了一种更为公开的戏剧
but outside the commercial theatre of the West End.
在斯隆广场这里的皇家宫廷戏剧院前
Here at the Royal Court in Sloane Square, a man called
一个名叫乔治·迪瓦恩的男子正在鼓动
George Devine was encouraging a new generation
讨厌宾奇·博蒙特那种中产阶级趣味的
of young writers and directors who hated
中产阶级戏剧的新一代剧作家和导演
the middle-brow, middle-class theatre of Binkie Beaumont.
拉提根可能根本就没有想到
Rattigan could hardly have imagined what effect
晚上在这个剧院看新戏的这次出行
an evening trip to a new play at this theatre
会给他未来的事业产生怎样的影响
would have on his future career.
拉提根在伊顿广场有一所公♥寓♥
Rattigan had an apartment here in Eaton Square,
所以1956年5月8号♥晚他要是去
so he didn’t have far to travel on the night
斯隆广场看新锐剧作家约翰·奥斯本的
of the 8th of May 1956 to Sloane Square, to attend
《愤怒回首》的全球首演的话
the world premiere of Look Back In Anger,
也不需要走很远的路
a play by a very young new talent, John Osborne.
这个晚上标志着拉提根在戏剧界
It was a night that was to mark the beginning of Rattigan’s
开始失宠 并且知道许多年以后
fall from grace, and it would be many years until
他的一部剧才在伦敦的剧场再次受捧
one of his plays was applauded in a London theatre again.
皇家宫廷剧院里初出茅庐的奥斯本及其他
Not for nothing would Osborne and other writers at the
成为了知名的”愤怒的青年”
Royal Court become known as the “angry young men”,
拉提根也隐约觉察到了这一点
as Rattigan was about to find out.
奥斯本的这部剧成了这群人新运动的催化剂
Osborne’s play was the catalyst for their new movement.
要是真让你经历一些事就好了
If only something, something, would happen to you,
《愤怒回首》
彼得·怀特海德制片
赶紧从你的美梦中清醒吧
wake you up out of your beauty sleep!
如果你有孩子的话 就不会这么想了
If you could have a child, and it would die.
养育孩子 让他从一个像橡胶一样皱巴巴的
Let it grow, let a recognisable human face emerge
一团 到后来长大成人
from that little mass of India rubber and wrinkles.
求求你了好吗 要是我能让你经历那些就好了
Please, now, please! If only I could watch you face that.
我想知道你能否独♥立♥长大成人
I wonder if you might even become a recognisable
这一点我非常怀疑
human being yourself, but I doubt it!
现在这该死的钟声又响了
Now the bloody bells have started!
在《愤怒回首》的中心人物
In the central character of Look Back In Anger,
吉米·坡特的身上 新的一代找到了他们的心声
Jimmy Porter, a new generation had found its voice.
别敲了 我快被逼疯了
Stop those bells! There’s somebody going crazy in here.
吵死了
Don’t want to hear them!
# I feel the weather is changing #
# You’re growing colder #
关于新生代剧作家 拉提根一家人的观点被他们中的一个
To them, Rattigan and his ilk represented what one of them
概括为 没有生命力的组织
would call “the pale side of the establishment” –
一个终将被他们淘汰的组织
an establishment they intended to sweep away.
拉提根和宾奇·博蒙特一起来这儿
Rattigan came here for the opening night of
观看了《愤怒回首》的首演
Look Back In Anger with Binkie Beaumont,
在宾奇的压制下拉提根
who had to restrain him in his seat
才没能站起来提前离场
to stop him from leaving early.
终场时 拉提根被
When the play did finish,
一名记者问道他对这部戏的看法
he was asked for his opinion by a journalist,
他草草的对记者答道 在他看来
to which he flippantly replied it seemed to him
约翰·奥斯本似乎想说明
that John Osborne was saying,
他和拉提根不一样
“Look, Ma, I’m not Terence Rattigan.”
这个圆滑的回答证明他自己一点也不
This glib response proved him dangerously out of touch
了解年轻一代 这一点被传媒抓住不放
with the younger generation, and it was seized upon
导致了他与新生代剧作家
by the press to begin the damaging contrast between him
渐行渐远
and the younger generation of writers.
大卫·黑尔是七十年代早期
Playwright David Hare was the resident dramatist
皇家宫廷剧院的常驻剧作家
here at the Royal Court in the early ’70s.
虽然他被激励成为了”愤怒的青年”中的一员
Though inspired to become a writer by the angry young men,
他对拉提根有着一种复杂的态度
he has a more complicated attitude to Rattigan,
作为一个剧作家 他其实很欣赏拉提根的一些作品
whilst respecting some of his work as a playwright.
拉提根最出色的两部作品
The two greatest plays are
一是《布朗宁版本》 我认为这绝对是杰作
The Browning Version, which I think is a masterpiece,
二是《蔚蓝深海》 当然这也是部了不起的作品
and The Deep Blue Sea, which I think is also a masterpiece.
而且还有其他一些好作品
There are some very good plays,
比如《文斯洛男孩》《鸳鸯谱》
like The Winslow Boy and Separate Tables,
都是好作品
which are very good plays.
但他在这些佳作里要展现的主题
But his subject, in those great plays,
太让人痛心了 怎么说呢
is so…harrowing, which…
我理解的拉提根真正想表达的是