Written by a??Arthur Millera??, this American classic follows an ageing, self-deluded salesman, his family and their idea of the American dream. This latest production of a??Miller'sa?? classic work reimagines the play through the eyes of an African-American family.
2 comments:
When I watched Death of a Salesman last year in Japan, I remember being impressed by how the story empathized with modern Japanese society. Unfortunately, Japanese people are known for overworking at the sacrifice of their health, family, and even life. I interpreted the show as the modern Japan expressed metaphorically through the 1950s America. However, it was interesting to read how the American critics describe the recent revival in the West End as “a story for anyone struggling to better themselves.” (Not to mention the expression “a letter from Truman’s America to Trump’s America, one that shows how while everything changes at the same time nothing changes” is great.) It might be that the story can deliver an effective message regardless of the age or the country. In addition, it was also interesting to read while there are many discussions about “color-blind casting” is the industry, the West End revival added a compelling trigger by casting black actors.
I worked a light board for a production of Death of a Salesman for two weekends about a year ago, and at the time I didn't really consider the relevance of the play's themes to the modern world because the performance seemed really rooted in the past. The addition of race into the dialogue of the many other issues discussed in this show is a strong choice that changes some of the major themes in the production but in a way that makes me really happy to read that it is being received well. There is always a risk when a company makes a change like this to a classic show at a professional level, but when executed well it can leave audiences with more to think about than just what happened in the show. It creates a dialogue around greater issues of representation and artistic interpretation in theater, and also changes how we perceive the show in future productions. When one group leads the charge to change a show, it gives other production companies the courage to interpret the show in their own way and create even more dialogues.
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