摘要
Does the native tongue confer greater authenticity and connection? And how does this connect with languages acquired later in life? From thirty years of directing, training, and auditioning actors from a range of ethnicities, I have believed that the mother-tongue has a particular and organic connection for an actor, one difficult to achieve in any other language. This belief was confounded in a laboratory conducted with Romanian actors, March 2013. The work was performed in both English and Romanian and it was with a sense of shock that I observed that the work was more vital, compelling, and physically and vocally engaged when they spoke in English. What were the factors at play here and what are the implications for future work? Patsy Rodenburghas written of the giddy delight children find in language. Under what conditions does the native tongue evoke that "giddy delight" and where and when does it become an obstacle to such pleasure?