h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It has its reasons why "Die Feuerzangenbowle" has cult status
in Germany.
Of course it's difficult to explain rationally to people of another
country why its cult.
Unfortunately there is no English version of the film. Because the
film is from 1944 the sound is (understandably) not the best.
There is also another reason why non-Germans with a reasonable
understanding of German have difficulties to understand the film.
That's because of the use of accents.
Now to introduce "Die Feuerzangenbowle" properly to an English
audience the stage version was translated from German into English
by students of the University of Bath and elsewhere as well as by
members of the Bath German society. The play will be performed
in the first week of December 2002 on campus of the University of Bath.



Andreas

Nau zis wudd bieh eh riesen for mieh tuh draiv ouver zere! Dschast tuh sieh wott zäi mäik aut of it



[Attention - Spoiler!
Zis is Denglish and translates as:
Now this would be a reason for me to drive over there! Just to see what they make out of it]

Yeah, you're right, Bossel!

Good luck with the play!

Sorry to butt in on your conversation, but if
Researcher 199966
would go back to there own page and then click on the "EDIT PAGE" button and then write a little something about your self then a ACE can come and welcome you there properly
Sorry for interrupting your conversation

Manda

Thanks for the well-wishes.
The stage version of "Die Feuerzangenbowle" is actually
closer to the novel than the film. So there is more about
the "little Luck", how he is bullied by his classmates, and it
is him not Pfeiffer who puts up the sign that the school is closed.
Of cause the play had to be cut to be not longer than 2hours.
So there is no "Karzer"-scene and the girl school is cut out.
To keep Eva in she was made a student teacher and she gives
music lessons at the Penal (gymnasium) replacing Fridolin who
conviniently broke his leg.
However one literature scene is extended: where in the film
the pupils reciting only a page from a book very badly, in the play
the whole final scene of Schillers "Maid of Orleans" is recited in
a way that the autor would turn in his grave.
Also in the final scene there is a simple real scientific experiment.
Has anyone heard of a "daughter flame" (Tochterflamme)?
You hold a glasstube in a candle flame and ignite the fume on
the other end. Also, if you blow the candle out and hold a flame
on the upcoming fume, then the flame jumps back to the wick
and the candle burns again.
Experiments like this showed the great English scientist Micheal Farady
in Christmas lectures to members of the public around 1860.

I'm also thinking about entering the play into the National Student Drama
Festival competition. The chances are slim, but it would be great if it
would be choosen to be shown in Scaborough as well.



Andreas

So that's artist's freedom, I guess? Do you translate the local dialect too?

We didn't rewrite the story. We just translated it.
The stage adaption was made years ago and the
guy who did this isn't alive anymore.
"Die Feuerzangenbowle" is/was shown in theatres
throughout Germany.
The dialects was of course a problem. I asked around -
also professional theatre people - and the general
advice I was given is that I shouldn't insist on dialect
in the translation stage, but rather ask people at the
auditions to put on a dialect and go from there.
So for "Boemmel" I intend a local bristish dialect
and for "Schauz" (in English: "the Tash") which doesn't
speaks a real dialect but nasal (which doesn't really
work in English) I just declare he speaks with a German
accent and so I can play it myself.


Andreas