Death of a Salesman | Liverpool Everyman

The American Dream: a motivational driving force, or an exercise in futility? For around a century this idea, popularised by historian James Truslow Adams, has acted as something of a beacon of hope, a sense of national ethos, that perpetuates the ideology that anyone can succeed and attain a better life if they put their mind to it; and for every man or woman who achieves this, there will be hundreds, if not thousands who fall short of the mark, consigned to a lifetime of ‘what if’s.

Enter travelling salesman Willy Loman, a man who is in the twilight of a long career, and is physically and mentally exhausted from spending so many hours, days, months and years on the road selling his wares. He, too, once sought this holy grail of success, but now finds himself on the verge of retirement, his time running out, and looking back on what was, as well as lamenting what could have been. We explore his fractured relationships with his wife Linda, sons Biff and Happy, and neighbourhood friends, taking a deep dive into timeless, profoundly human themes that show just why this classic by Arthur Miller is still as ever popular over 75 years later.

Though this is a story that has likely been interpreted in as many ways as one could imagine, this new staging by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu breathes fresh African life into the story, and the reimagining of Willy as a first generation West African immigrant shifts our perspective entirely, adding extra layers into the character and his journey. From the moment Adelaide Banks enters, clad in traditional dress and regaling us with African folk melodies on her flute, this is a production with a distinct sense of identity and personality, and it fully reinvigorates this decades-old story for new audiences.

And it isn’t just thematically where we gain a sense of clarity, but in how memory scenes are interspersed within the main action, unwrapping layer upon layer of depth through simple adjustments in actors’ body language and speech patterns, as well as through Georgia Wilmot’s marvellously detailed costume design. Fynn-Aiduenu has clearly prioritised visual and interpretive individuality, and the clarity with which the narrative is delivered, both of which have been achieved with aplomb.

Willy himself is portrayed with gumption yet beautiful vulnerability by veteran stage and screen actor Cyril Nri, bringing a wonderful sense of authenticity to this interpretation of the character, as if he’s been able to inject a great deal of his own personality into the performance. We feel every stage of his deterioration, to the point where the climax of his character arc feels entirely earned, through the closure he experiences over resolving the inherent contention with his eldest son.

Taking on the deeply complex role of Biff, Laurence Ubong Williams absolutely knocks it out of the park with his forceful, almost wild take on the character, giving a performance of great emotional maturity. Williams excels in both holding up a mirror to his character’s father, and signifying the lost potential he once saw in his “golden child”. On the other side of the genealogical coin, younger sibling Happy, played most spiritedly by Kiren Kebaili-Dwyer, acts as the antithesis to Biff’s lifetime of seemingly wasted opportunities, but also to his sardonic realism, presenting us with a much more blindly optimistic individual who, unlike his brother, has taken life by the scruff and made the most of it.

It is a major challenge to be able to take an established theatrical classic, and be able to not only successfully communicate the text, but make it feel fresh, current yet steeped in history, and the introduction of Igbo language scattered about adds to this production's considerable sense of identity. Safe for the odd anachronism, such as the inexplicable appearance of a smartphone and bluetooth device, in a story supposedly set in post wartime, this is a terrifically calculated, well considered staging that accentuates the thematic and emotional material superbly.

Death of a Salesman plays at Liverpool Everyman until 10th October - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Ali Wright