Postcolonial Hong Kong Drama Translation

Mainstream postcolonial (translation) theories focus on the deconstruction of colonialism but seldom consider the case of one colonized subject between two colonizers, postcolonial drama translation per se, and possible benefits of European colonialism to the Third World. The objective is to study the applicability of postcolonial theories to the Western drama in Hong Kong (HK) translation. Mainstream postcolonial theories are juxtaposed with alternative ones, e.g., Fanon's (1967) vs. Ferguson's (2003); Bhabha's (1994) mimicry vs. Rey Chow's (1998) hybrid third space between two aggressors; Tymoczko's (1999) anti-English translation in Irish literature vs. Gilbert Fong's (2007) "strategic alliance" with the UK in HK drama. Two Western plays performed in HK Cantonese since the Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984), R. Chan's (1997) version of Shaw's pygmalion (relocated in HK in the 30s) and H. Tsoi's (2008) version of Bolt's A Man for All Seasons (in the form of an entertainment in a modern HK party), are examined in their socio-political context with rereading of the original divided into the translator's, the director's, the critic's and the audience's. It is found that postcolonial HK drama translation reflects nostalgia for British colonial rule and a need to interrogate China as the second colonizer. Mainstream postcolonial theories apply more to HK Peking than to HK-London relations.