Currently playing at the Noël Coward Theatre having first premièred at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon earlier this year, the RSC celebrates the centenary of Arthur Miller’s birth with a gripping production of Death of a Salesman, one of his most admired works and often regarded as the greatest play of the 20th century. Awarded the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play, this new version directed by RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran is a fitting tribute to a work that has had such an impact in shaping modern theatre.
Telling the story of Willy Loman, a washed up travelling salesman, Anthony Sher gives an utterly devastating portrayal of a man who, having worked tirelessly for the same company for over thirty years is now struggling to make ends meet following his salary being withdrawn, leaving him with a commission only rate.
At a time when we’re all living longer and struggling to prepare for old age, the character of Willy strikes a chord with audiences more than ever, and Miller’s observations of the harsh realities of getting older and not having enough ‘put by’ remain poignantly uncomfortable to watch, regardless of what country you happen to live in.
Willy fights against age and the fact that he isn’t making the sales he needs, trying to convince himself (and everyone around him), through sheer bravado, that tomorrow will be different, that his luck is bound to change. Aged 63, his only desire is to have enough money to pay his bills and enjoy a comfortable retirement, content to watch his two sons make their own mark on the world.
Written in 1949 at a time when so many citizens of America were employed in sales of one kind or another, this play touched the post-WWII generation with its startlingly honest impression of society and employment. ‘You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of fruit,’ Willy implores his boss Howard Wagner (Tobias Beer), in the hope of having his small salary reinstated.
Driving thousands of miles only to come home empty handed at the end of the day, Willy attempts to conceal the direness of the situation from his wife Linda (Harriet Walter). He has been reduced to asking his successful neighbour Charley (Joshua Richards) for $50 a week, just to survive, and Linda has reason to suspect that her husband is preparing to take his own life.
Walter is magnificent as the fiercely loyal wife who can no longer afford to colour her hair and has to darn her own stockings, trying to hold everything together and pleading with her sons to give their father the respect he deserves: ‘Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person.’
Increasingly confused and hurtling towards a mental breakdown, Willy channels all his hopes in his sons, Biff (Alex Hassell), and Happy (Sam Marks) – still blindly believing in the American Dream and the possibility of a miraculous overnight success. Idolising his brother Ben (Guy Paul), who walked into the jungle aged seventeen and walked out rich at twenty-one, Willy holds him up as an example to the family, railing against Biff, who in turn recognises the futility of sacrificing his entire life to being part of a system that will eventually chew him up and spit him out.
In truth the swaggering figure of Uncle Ben is simply a figment of Willy’s imagination and a symbol of his own failure and bitterly unfulfilled life. The fact that the end of the story is announced in the title doesn’t make for a surprise, admittedly, but the power lies in seeing Willy’s end coming and not being about to prevent it. This very human tragedy is underlined by the fact that his funeral takes place on the day of the last mortgage repayment. Willy may be dead, but this production promises to live with audiences for a long time to come.
Death of a Salesman at the Noël Coward Theatre, London, until 18th July 2015. For more information and tickets visit the website.
