Tim Supple

In typical book-obsessed fashion, I attempted to read a translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses to work towards completing the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" list. The list iteself is obviously complete folly in the first place, but this instance was an early example of how carefully one must choose their translations and how much I generally dislike ridiculously long and drawn-out poetry. Clearly my OCD and stubbornness were still getting the best of me. I very much wish that someone had show more suggested at the time that I source Ted Hughes' translations, because having read and enjoyed much of his poetry would have been a good indicator of a translator who could handle the scholarly art of translation from Latin but could also treat Ovid's poetry with proper license (or abandonment, as the case may be). I found this slim volume, promising "selections" only, from the semi-annual fundraising bookstall for the symphony and figured that I would pick it up as an experiment. Would Hughes make Ovid readbale and enjoyable - who knows. Ironically, the book isn't even strictly a selection of Hughes' translations of Metamorphoses, but is a further adaptation of the stories for the stage by Simon Reade and Tim Supple! Surprise content aside, I very much enjoyed the collection of stories that they wove together as a performance. The language of the play is decidedly Hughes-esque and retains the feeling and tone of the classical-era drama (which I can't believe I remember from University year 1 classes). I'm not sure how close to Ovid the second-gen interpretation actually gets, but it's definitely a fun interpretation that explores a good (yet random) selection of classical mythology. If anything, I would have liked to see how they treated even more of the stories, since many of my favourite gods and goddesses (Artemis/Diana, Neptune, etc) didn't quite make the cut. Then again, many of the stories are so familiar that it's far more fun for the playwrites (and their audiences) to explore the lesser-known tales that appeal more to adults. show less