Existentialism on stage: Six Jean-Paul Sartre’s plays translated by Manuel de Pedrolo

Abstract

Jean-Paul Sartre was, without a doubt, one of the most influential intellectuals in the 1960s. In our country, the influence of Sartre’s existentialist postulates came not only through the versions of his essays and novels, but also through his dramaturgical work. The main Catalan translator of the Sartre theatre is, to date, Manuel de Pedrolo, better known as a translator of American novels and, above all, as a narrator. This article reviews Pedrolo’s production as a theatre translator (which also includes four British authors from the sixties), analyses the background and particularities of his versions of Sartre, describes the reception that these pieces had at the time and mentions unpublished or pending translations. Finally, as a counterpoint, we analyse two unpublished versions of Sartre signed by Bonaventura Vallespinosa and compare them with the style of Pedrolo.