Death of a Salesman – Festival Theatre

Arthur Miller’s iconic treatise on the American Dream, often studied, but rarely performed, is brought to glorious life tonight on the Scotland’s biggest stage in front of a packed and almost reverential audience.

It is a simple enough tale of an ordinary man, Willie Loman, who has worked all his life to live up to his, and America’s, idea of what a man should be; strong, dependable, financially stable and unexceptional – an automaton – A Salesman. We enter Willie’s world just as he seriously begins to question his life and whether it has been a success. He has begun to have lapses of concentration which might point towards the onset of dementia, which are now even affecting his ability to drive safely and ultimately be able to continue working. A life insurance policy of $20,000 feels like his best option, ‘a man ends up worth more dead than alive’.

David Hayman leads a talented cast in the lead role and manages to capture his headlong dive towards inevitable oblivion with a quite superb physical performance, from chest pumping bravado to slouched resignation.

Well handled flashback scenes of early life with his wife and two boys point towards happier times, but also Willie’s moral frailties, whether it is in condoning stealing by his boys, mocking the weak or cheating on his wife, which ultimately lead to the failure not just of Willie but also his sons. In this sense it is a cautionary tale that the American dream without morals and ethics and kindness can never be a success.

Despite the quality of the script and acting this production has its issues. During the first Act in particular the hugeness of the stage and the intimacy of the narrative make uncomfortable bedfellows, quiet lines are simply lost into the vastness. Which is a shame because Miller’s text is brilliantly economical.

Also, despite extensive description of the set within the text of the play itself, ‘gotta break your neck to see a star…. the moon moving between the buildings, and numerous mentions of a backyard so overshadowed that nothing can grow, there is really no evidence of the looming malevolence of the surrounding skyscrapers. Instead, we have an oddly naturalistic setting with a picket fence a blue shimmering sky and two trees. The text demands something much darker.

Despite all of this the second act is an absolute firecracker, with director, Andy Arnold, whipping the action into a frenzy as Millers loose threads are pulled together tight as a hangman’s noose. The restaurant scene stands out, where recently fired Willie meets up with his loser sons, philandering bum, Happy (Michael Wallace) and permanent drifter Biff, brilliantly played by Daniel Cahill, it is a great joy of a dumpster fire.

The final words within this memorable evening are uttered by the long-suffering devoted wife Linda, played in stalwart fashion by the excellent Beth Marshall, the constant glue at the centre of Willie’s dream, who held it together just about as long as she could.

If you get a chance, don’t miss it!

Reviewer: Greg Holstead

Reviewed: 19^th March 2025

North West End UK Rating: