"The Adventures of Tintin": A British Pantomime. A creative translation

Abstract

If world literature is literature that travels, does that mean works and genres that are unique to specific cultures cannot become world literature?  While “The Adventures of Tintin” by Hergé have been popular internationally, British pantomime has remained a relatively isolated genre.  British panto is a unique form of theatre that revolves around a very traditional formula for plot succession and integral “gags”; similarly, throughout the series, “The Adventures of Tintin” have established their own guidelines, but more specifically to characterization.  In adapting these two works, the process is an artistic translation: translating the written French literature of the Belgian Tintin into the English dramatic literature of a pantomime script.  British panto scripts recycle a select group of storylines, dependent of the easily recognizable characters.  Although Tintin has been translated into English comics, it is not one of the traditional storylines used by panto writers; however, the remarkable distinction of Hergé’s characters distinguishes them as ideal panto inclusions.  By combining these two works, the genre of British pantomime gains status as world literature and the Tintin series gain further cultural enrichment.  What results from this artistic translation is a new product: an international pantomime.