The aim of this article is threefold: first, a brief history of drama translation as exchange of dramatic texts will be outlined. Throughout the history of theatre, texts have crossed boundaries and helped to establish new systems, or have given new blood to old systems. Second, a terminological clarification will be given in order to dispel the confusion which has sometimes surrounded terms such as “drama translation”, “dramatic text”, “theatre translation” and “theatre text”. Third, a survey of the major theoretical contributions will be presented. Interest in drama translation from a theoretical point of view started in the late 1970s, with contemporary translation scholars initially highly influenced by semiotics. More recently, however, they have turned their attention to new, and perhaps more profitable, means of investigation in a cultural perspective.