Stratford-on-Avon, as we all know, has only one industry—William Shakespeare—but there are two distinctly separate and increasingly hostile branches. There is the Royal Shakespeare Company (ASC), which presents superb productions of the plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on the Avon. And there are the townsfolk who largely live off the tourists who come, not to see the plays, but to look at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s birthplace and the other sights.
众所周之，埃文河畔斯特拉特福只有一个产业——威廉莎士比亚——但存在着两个截然不同且日益对立的分支。其中之一是皇家莎士比亚公司（ASC），它把一流的戏剧搬上莎士比亚纪念馆的舞台，该纪念馆就坐落在埃文河畔。与其对立的另一方是该镇的居民，他们的生活收入大都来自来此参观的游客，而这些游客却不是来看戏剧的，他们只是拜访安妮海斯威的村舍，领略莎士比亚出生地的种种风光。
The worthy residents of Stratford doubt that the theatre adds a penny to their revenue. They frankly dislike the RSC’s actors, them with their long hair and beards and sandals and noisiness. It’s all deliciously ironic when you consider that Shakespeare, who earns their living, was himself an actor (with a beard) and did his share of noise-making.
这里的居民都是些大人物，他们对剧院是否增加当地的财政收入表示怀疑。他们打心眼里不喜欢RSC的演员们，在他们眼里，留着长发和八撇胡的演员们成天趿拉着凉鞋聒噪不停。可是，养活他们的莎士比亚本人也是个留着八撇胡的演员，制造噪音，他也有份儿，想到这儿，真是莫大的讽刺。
The tourist streams are not entirely separate. The sightseers who come by bus- and often take in Warwick Castle and Blenheim Palace on the side—don’t usually see the plays, and some of them are even surprised to find a theatre in Stratford. However, the playgoers do manage a little sight-seeing along with their playgoing. It is the playgoers, the ESC contends, who bring in much of the town’s revenue because they spend the night (some of them four or five nights) pouring cash into the hotels and restaurants. The sightseers can take in everything and get out of town by nightfall.
但游客却不是那么泾渭分明。那些乘着巴士来观光的人们会顺便参观Warwick城堡和Blenheim宫殿，他们通常不看戏剧，有些人甚至能为在斯特拉特福看到剧院而感到惊奇。可是，来看戏的人在看戏之余的确也观光。ESC争辩说，因为来看戏的人要在此过夜（有些人要在此度过四五个夜晚），这使旅馆和饭店财源滚滚，正是他们增加了城镇的财政收入。而观光的人走马观花地看完所有景致，晚间就出城离开了。
The townsfolk don’t see it this way and local council does not contribute directly to the subsidy of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford cries poor traditionally. Nevertheless every hotel in town seems to be adding a new wing or cocktail lounge. Hilton is building its own hotel there, which you may be sure will be decorated with Hamlet Hamburger Bars, the Lear Lounge, the Banquo Banqueting Room, and so forth, and will be very expensive.
可当地居民却不以为然，当地市委并没直接给皇家莎翁公司补贴。斯特拉特福的传统就是哭穷。然而镇里的每家旅馆貌似都在制备新的椅子和鸡尾酒吧台。希尔顿正在那里建造自己的酒店，其中的装潢必少不了哈姆雷特汉堡酒吧，李尔休闲室，班柯宴会厅，等等等等，可以肯定的是这些都价格不菲。
Anyway, the townsfolk can’t understand why the Royal Shakespeare Company needs a subsidy. (The theatre has broken attendance records for three years in a row. Last year its 1,431 seats were 94 percent occupied all year long and this year they’ll do better.) The reason, of course, is that costs have rocketed and ticket prices have stayed low.
总之，镇民们怎么也不能理解为什么皇家莎翁公司需要政府补贴。（剧院连续三年，年年刷新上座记录，去年中，1431个座位的上座率一直保持94%，今年预计将创新高。）其原因显而易见，剧院开销直线飙升，可门票保持较低的价格。
It would be a shame to raise prices too much because it would drive away the young people who are Stratford’s most attractive clientele. They come entirely for the plays, not the sights. They all seem to look alike (though they come from all over)---lean, pointed, dedicated faces, wearing jeans and sandals, eating their buns and bedding down for the night on the flagstones outside the theatre to buy the 20 seats and 80 standing—room tickets held for the sleepers and sold to them when the box office opens at 10:30 a.m.
大幅度提价，年轻人就不会问津，那就太遗憾了，他们可是斯特拉特福最抢眼的顾客。这些年轻人为看戏而来，不看风景。他们看起来都差不多（尽管来自西面八方），身材精瘦，棱角分明，满脸热诚，他们穿着牛仔脚踏凉鞋，吃着面包圈，晚上就打个地铺睡在剧院外的石板上，为的就是能买到早晨十点三十分卖票厅开始售票时候的那二十张坐票和八十张站票，这些票专门卖给露宿街头的人。 |
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