“I am not a dime a dozen!” cries Willy Loman, both to his family and to himself, as both the character and the actor portraying him reel with internal turmoil.
The National Arts Centre’s (NAC) production of A Salesman in China lands with the gut-wrenching intensity of the play staged within it, drawing audiences into a world of colliding cultures and conflicting responsibilities.
Adrian Pang 彭耀順 as Ying Ruocheng (left) and Tom McCamus as Arthur Miller in Salesman in China. Stratford Festival 2024. Photo: David Hou.
Debuting at the Stratford Festival last year, the play finds its inspiration in the Chinese adaptation of Death of a Salesman at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre. The story begins in 1983, when Arthur Miller, along with his wife, travel to Beijing to supervise the staging of the play in Mandarin, led by Chinese theatre luminary Ying Ruocheng.
The two men traverse cultural differences as they work and learn about one another, gradually building a connection that challenges their understanding of each other. However, as opening night draws closer, tensions continue to rise within and beyond the theatre, and the parallels between Ying and Willy Loman cause the line between life and the stage to begin to blur.
Members of the company in Salesman in China. Stratford Festival 2024. Photo: David Hou.
The play makes expert use of surtitles (a Canadian invention) to present the play simultaneously in Mandarin and English, immersing audiences in the world of the play. The lighting is also deserving of comment, ranging from warm and intimate to bring us into Ying’s living room, to stark spotlights reminding us of the play within a play that we are bearing witness to.
The standout performances of the play are Adrian Pang 彭耀順 as Ying Ruocheng and Tom McCamus as Arthur Miller. Ying’s anguish and turmoil is palpable in Pang’s expert care as he expertly portrays Ying’s many facets: a brilliant artist scarred by his experience during the cultural revolution and determined and desperate to rebuild his, and his family’s, life.
Tom McCamus as Arthur Miller (front-left) and Adrian Pang 彭耀順 as Ying Ruocheng (front-right) with from left: 郝邦宇 Steven Hao as Li Shilong, Phoebe Hu 胡馨勻 as Zhu Lin, Harriet Chung 鍾浩賢 as Hui Li and Derek Kwan 關顯揚 as Mo in Salesman in China. Stratford Festival 2024. Photo: David Hou.
McCamus depicts Miller as curmudgeonly, endearing, and deeply American, who finds himself at odds in a new world as he contemplates his legacy. Together, both actors bring out the best in each other, sharing quiet and explosive moments with equal chemistry.
Through tackling this story of cross-cultural connection, A Salesman in China offers an important reminder of the power of the theatre to build bridges, bringing people from all walks of life and across the world together. A reminder that is as relevant now as it was in 1983.
Salesman in China is performing at the National Arts Centre from Jan. 16-25. You can get your tickets online. For more information about the NACs English Theatre programming, visit their website.
