Translation for the theatre is often considered to hold a marginal status between literary translation and adaptation for the stage. As a result, this book argues that studies of this complex activity tend to take either a textual or performative approach. After exploring the history of translation theory through these lenses, Massimiliano Morini proposes a more totalizing view of 'theatre translation' as the sum of operations required to transform one theatre act into another, and analyses three complex Western case histories in light of this all-encompassing definition.

Combining theory with practice, Morini investigates how traditional ideas on translation – from Plautus and Cicero to the early 20th century – have been applied in the theatrical domain. He then compares and contrasts the inherently textual viewpoint of post-humanistic translators with the more performative approaches of contemporary theatrical practitioners, and chronicles the rise of performative views in the third millennium. Positioning itself at the intersection of past and present, as well as translation studies and theatre semiotics, Theatre Translation provides a full diachronic survey of an age-old activity and a burgeoning academic field.