In the lobby of the Avon Theatre at the Stratford Festival, just before curtain time, on the opening night of the world premiere of Salesman in China, the aura of excitement is palpable. Expectations of a riveting drama about one American family’s story in a socio-political intersection in time are high. I don’t know what to expect. The last time I saw Death of a Salesman was at the Avon Theatre in 1997, when Willy Loman was played by my late husband, Al Waxman. Now, in 2024, one of the actors in the play is my grandson, Asher Albert Waxman, who plays the role of Ying Da, the son of the character portraying Willy—in China.
What desire drove Arthur Miller to take his quintessential American play, Death of a Salesman, to China in 1983, have it translated into Mandarin, and direct it at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre, to be performed for a Chinese speaking audience, when the notion of a traveling salesman, life insurance and the American way of life was a completely foreign concept to the Chinese populace? It was potentially dangerously counter-cultural and yet it became the most significant cultural event in China since the Cultural Revolution. What Salesman in China reveals is that we all share “one humanity.”
The curtain opens to the main rehearsal room of the Beijing People’s Art Theatre in 1983. The actors have just completed their first read through of a Chinese translation of Arthur Miller’s drama, Death of a Salesman. Singaporean actor, Adrian Pang, portrays Chinese actor Ying Ruocheng, who plays Willie Loman. He introduces the guest of honor, Arthur Miller, played by Tom McCamus, who has just arrived in China with his wife Inge Morath, played by Sarah Orenstein, to direct the play.
Miller is asked the same questions I have asked: what prompted him to bring Death of a Salesman to China? His response is clear. He bemoans that in the U.S. he no longer feels relevant. There are new young playwrights generating buzz, while his own work is relegated to academic discussions. What is not revealed is that at that time, the U.S. government was encouraging artists to take American culture to other parts of the world.
The eyes of the world were fixed on this production, which signalled a thawing in the two nations’ icy relations. There were more cultural bridges than just the language barrier to cross. The Chinese public was oblivious to the cultural touchstones of Miller’s work. China is a land without traveling salesmen or insurance policies or personal automobiles. The celebrated playwright and assistant artistic director of the People’s Arts Theater was also required to appease the political directives of various government officials and attachés.
In a daring act of bringing cultural cross-pollination to life, shifting seamlessly between Mandarin and English, the play becomes an act of translation, inviting the audience to imagine bold new interpretations of the Death of a Salesman.
At intermission, my mind goes back to the first time I came to Stratford in the summer of 1968. There have been enormous changes to the Stratford Festival since then. Back then, leading actors were stars of Shakespearean theatre imported from England. This production is the world premiere of a cast of predominantly Chinese actors performing in a play that is 40% Chinese spoken language. And consider the technical aspect of subtitles in English and Mandarin. We’ve come a long way, baby!
The subtitles appear on a screen at the foot of a raised-stage. Sometimes you see the story from Arthur Miller’s point of view, and feel his “lost in translation” experience, and sometimes you see it from the point of view of the Chinese characters in the play. But wait—the story is woven by a master playwright. The bilingual subtitles are not only a means to understand the words, they also have an important role in the play, with a life of their own, challenging the audience to become more immersed in the experience.
According to Director and co-writer Jovanni Sy, “That’s what theatre is so great at—building empathy, and helping you understand what another person’s life is like; just stepping in their shoes for a minute. The more we as a people are able to do that—to realize what other people’s dreams and burdens are—the harder it is to paint a whole group with the same brush.”
As the play progresses, in my mind’s eye, I picture a careful plaited hair braid. One plait is China and one is America. Sy and co-writer Leanna Brodie use the ribbon of translation to braid the narrative.
Salesman in China is a great theatrical achievement that opens new possibilities for the Stratford Festival to expand its audience by re-telling a classic story through a bilingual, cross-cultural lens for fresh and profound new perspectives.
Jovanni Sy and Leanna Brodie have created a tour de force that intricately intertwines two disparate situations into “one humanity.” We are meticulously led through the first reading of the play to the opening night of Death of a Salesman in Beijing in 1983, to a dramatically satisfying conclusion. This brilliant production at the Avon Theatre plays until October 26th. It is an experience not to be missed.
For more information go to: www.stratfordfestival.ca
