Translation

CUBA

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007, 'Cuba', by Ulises Rodríguez Febles and Jenny Buckman, with translation by William, was shortlisted for a Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) Award in 2008.
Click here to see the news on the WGGB website.

HEADLINES (TITULARES) by Argentine playwright Laura Fernández will be workshopped in a translation by William at the Royal Court Theatre's international residency this July and August. This follows William's translation of a new play by Cuban playwright Norge Espinosa, MIDNIGHT REVOLUTIONS, being performed as a rehearsed reading in July as part of the Royal Court 'Rough Cuts' season, directed by Indhu Rubasingham.

Click here for more details.

THE CONCERT, directed by Philip Boehm.

Following its success on the BBC World Service and at the Royal Court Theatre, William's translation of Ulíses Rodríguez Febles' THE CONCERT will have its US début later this year.

Upstream Theatre in St Louis, Missouri, will stage THE CONCERT in April. Directed by Philip Boehm and starring Jerry Vogel as Johnny, together with Briston Ashe, Thomasina Clark, J. Samuel Davis, Peter Mayer, Norman McGowan, Jane Paradise, Isabel Pastrana, Terrell W. J. Randall Sr., and featuring Farshid Soltanshahi as John Lennon. Set Design byIgor Karash. Costumes by Michele Siler. Lighting by Sean Savoie. Special consulting by Beatle Bob. Performances are April 4-6, 10-13, and 17-20 at 305 S. Skinker Blvd. (at Fauquier between Clayton and Wydown). All shows are at 8 PM except Sundays at 7PM.

Click here for more information.

MEXICAN PLAYS

An anthology featuring William’s translations of Bárbara Colio’s LITTLE CERTAINTIES and Iván Olivares’ SEVEN-ELEVEN, is published by Nick Hern Books on November 14th. LITTLE CERTAINTIES and SEVEN-ELEVEN both premiered in the UK as rehearsed readings at the Royal Court Theatre’s ‘Arena Mexico’ season in January 2006.

Click here to order it direct.

CUBA, MI AMOR

CUBA, a collaboration by Ulises Rodríguez Febles and Jennie Buckman, with translation by William, premiered on BBC Radio 4 earlier this year as part of the ‘Friday Play’ strand. ‘Radio Choice’(Patricia Wynn Davies, Daily Telegraph).

Norma, an English divorcee who in her youth went to Cuba as a delegate to an international festival of socialism, returns to Havana 20 years later.
There, she meets the seductive Jesús, and discovers that the island nation has changed in ways she never expected.

Click here to see the Radio 4 website.

THE CONCERT by Ulises Rodríguez Febles (Cuba).

A new radio adaptation of this contemporary play from Cuba was aired on the BBC World Service on January 20th. Click here to see the BBC World Service website.

Havana, 2000. Fidel Castro has just unveiled a lifesize statue of John Lennon. But former musician Johnny can remember a time, thirty years before, when the Beatles were not so celebrated in Cuba. He steals the statue and attempts to re-assemble his rock band. But dredging up the past only rubs salt into today's wounds.

THE CONCERT was first performed as a rehearsed reading at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court in April 2004, directed by Indhu Rubasingham. The text is available to buy, published by Nick Hern Books.
Click here to order it direct.

DIVINO PASTOR GÓNGORA directed by Miguel Ángel Rivera

The Anglo Mexican Foundation, Jon Bonfiglio & Giles Ramsay present the UK premiere of Mexican playwright Jaime Chabaud’s play set in 18th Century Mexico. The play runs at the Pleasance Dome at the Edinburgh Fringe from August 7th-26th.

An actor faces persecution from a Viceregal Inquisitor. One man and a journey through time. By Teatro del Mar. Starring Carlos Cobos.

‘William Gregory’s evocative and pithy translation wrings out every double entendre with poetic dignity’ The Stage.

DIVINO PASTOR GÓNGORA was also performed at the Kinsale Festival in Ireland in summer 2007.

Or here to visit the play’s website.

SEVEN-ELEVEN by Iván Olivares, directed by Indhu Rubasingham at the Royal Court Theatre

Cabron 'the Bastard' isn't having a good day. His scams aren't going well. Thank God for the Seven-Eleven and its constant supply of hotdogs. A dark caper through Mexico's criminal underbelly.

Visit the Royal Court homepage on www.royalcourttheatre.com

LITTLE CERTAINTIES by Bárbara Colio, directed by Gordon Anderson at the Royal Court Theatre

Mario is missing. Is he dead or alive? In the border town of Tijuana, Mario's brother and sister, Juan and Sofa, make a shocking discovery about their brother and his secrets

Visit the Royal Court homepage on www.royalcourttheatre.com

SHOTGUN DREAMING by Lola Arias (Argentina).

Night-time in the city. A bedroom. A man and a young woman. They have only met tonight, but their conversation quickly takes a sinister turn.

SHOTGUN DREAMING was first performed as a rehearsed reading at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court in April 2004, directed by Roxana Silbert. For more information, please contact me or the Royal Court International Department.

SHOTGUN DREAMING was performed at the Ritzy Cinema, Brixton, on March 24th 2005 as part of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, directed by Roxana Silbert. Click here to see the Film Festival’s London website.

SPRINGTIME by Julio Escalada (Spain)

The first in the Four Seasons tetralogy, SPRINGTIME is a story of adultery between friends. As March blossoms into April, five characters find their lives and loves turned upside-down by fate, frustration and a bad case of Spring Fever.

SPRINGTIME premiered in the UK at the Finborough Theatre in London in August 2003. It is published in Spanish by the Sociedad General de Autores de España. Please contact me with any queries about the English translation.

SUMMER by Julio Escalada

The second Four Seasons play, SUMMER tells the story of one boy’s journey through a Midsummer night, as he embarks on a magical, sinister quest to the heart of an age-old labyrinth. Myth and modernity combine in a dark twist on a fairy tale theme.

SUMMER is published in Spanish by Avispa. Please contact me with any queries about the English translation.

WINTER by Julio Escalada

The third in the Four Seasons series. A winter’s day dawns promisingly brightly but dark clouds are gathering; characters old and young, begin to reveal their darker sides and clouded desires, and the strong ties that bind them seem ruled more by need than by generosity.

WINTER was selected by Spain’s Centro Nacional de Teatro for the 2004 European Theatre Convention. Please contact me with any queries about the English translation. Or click here to see WINTER'spage on the ETC website.