Dennehy commands the stage, his enormous presence dominates. What Miller is telling us is that these travelling salesmen are already, in 1948, a thing of the past, as are the kind of businesses they sold to.īrian Dennehy as the patriarch is stubborn, volatile, angry, often his own worst enemy and a bully towards long-suffering Linda.
It comes with the territory." Much of Willy's hero worship is for the 84 year old salesman whose his funeral was attended by hundreds of salesman and buyers.
The concept of this man who is, in Charley's words in the final scene, "He's a man way out there is the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. What places Miller's play firmly in its historical context is the role of the salesman. Willy's final scene is the ultimate self-delusion as Willy imagines that Biff will benefit from his life insurance. I found the play almost harrowing as we are forced to watch the decline of a man and the destruction of every one of his unrealised hopes. The rejection of Willy Loman by the son of his old employer strikes even more of a chord today where youth culture dominates big companies. Like fine wine, some things can only improve with age and this production seems to be one of them.ĭeviating from Miller's original intentions, here the Loman family are not distinguishably Jewish, they are simply American with the dreams and ambitions fostered by the America Dream. Clare Higgins who won the Olivier for her recent role of Hecuba at the Donmar, plays Linda and Douglas Henshall takes on Biff, with Mark Bazeley as Happy. With Brian Dennehy as Willy and the older male parts intact from the American production, Linda Loman and the boys are recast with British actors. It won four Tonys in 1999, including Best Direction, Best Actor for Brian Dennehy and Best Revival of a Play. Robert Falls' Chicago production of the late Arthur Miller's 1948 play, Death of a Salesman comes to London after an elapse of more than seven years. Douglas Henshall as Biff and Brian Dennehy as Willy Loman
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