Abstract：The British scholar Susan Bassnett deals with the discussion of drama translation in her 2 books:Translation Studies (1980) and Constructing Cultures (1998) .From using to abandoning the term of "performability", it embodies her cultural transformation of research of drama translation.This article tries to correct the cognitive errors of the conception of "performability" in academic community, by studying Susan Bassnett's representation about the principle of "performability" in different historical period.

Keyword：performability;drama translation;cultural transformation;