3 days Ago
Widely acknowledged as one of the great plays of the Twentieth Century, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is headed to The Lowry next month as part of a major UK tour. Charting the final 24 hours of Willy Loman’s life, the play is a powerful and moving study of the hopes, dreams and struggles of a father worn down by the expectations both of himself and those around him. David Hayman in Death of a Salesman (Picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan) Taking on the iconic role is acclaimed Scottish actor David Hayman whose film and TV work ranges from Fisherman’s Friends to Dad’s Army.
Ahead of the production's arrival in Salford, David and director Andy Arnold talk about bringing a classic to life. Andy, why did you want to direct Death of a Salesman? AA: Well, I think it’s one of the greatest plays ever written, really. And when Trafalgar talked to me about an idea for a production, we thought, it’s such a brilliant play, it’ll fill large theatres.
And David and I, after Cyprus Avenue, we wanted to do another show together. We just thought, it’s such a wonderful play to do. And for David to play that part, Willy Loman, is just fantastic.
David, why did you want to do Death of a Salesman? DH: So for me, it’s one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. It’s a really brilliant classic that that spans time. It’s timeless.
It’s got a universal message in it. And usually tragedies are about kings and queens and tyrants and despots. And this is just about an ordinary working man.
He’s a salesman. He tears up and down the cities and the towns of New England. And he’s a failure, you know? He lives in this fantasy world.
Why is the play one of the greatest plays of the 20th century? AA: Because it’s a great tragedy. Because it’s great writing, great characters. An audience invests in the characters.
They care about them. They want to know what’s going to happen to them. And so we go on this journey just over 24 hours with Willy Loman through to his death at the end.
Why do you think the play is still so relevant today? AA: The issues of family struggles and failed expectations and somebody struggling with his job and love and betrayal and all these things, they’re all sort of common themes to everybody throughout the world. So it resonates as much now as it did when it was first staged 70 years ago. And I probably another 70 years, it will still be just as popular.
And what should audiences expect from the show? AA: Well. Brilliant performances. DH: You took the words right out of my mouth, Andy! Stunning direction.
.. AA: Great dialogue.
Great staging. The actual staging, we have an open space where we create magic on stage. There’s live music, there’s actors playing musical instruments.
So it’s a piece which just flies past because you’re so drawn into it, just you never wear the time at all. David Hayman (centre) as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan) Can you describe the show in three words? DH: Thrilling, exciting. AA: Hypnotic, magical, tragic.
DH: And unmissable. What’s it like to work with each other again after Cyprus Avenue (David starred in the play by David Ireland, directed by Andy in 2024)? AA: We enjoy working together very much, we enjoy being in a rehearsal room together. DH: And we have great fun still.
We have a great love for each other. We’ll go on working with each other until we die, I think. AA: And not only David, the level of actors in the room, it’s a great atmosphere.
DH: It’s a great company and they’re really investing in the performances. I mean, this is only the second week of rehearsals, but you see the performances coming alive before your eyes. And they’re all different.
All beautifully creative. Do you have any favourite performances or iterations of the play? AA: As a director, I never like to see a production of something I’m going to direct because for me, I’m doing the first production of it. You can’t think about it the way anybody else has done it.
However I did see one production in London about 30 odd years ago, and it was a memorable night. Alan Armstrong played Willy Loman and Mark Strong played Biff, so strong actors. And very much like we’re doing, it had a fairly empty stage; very, very little furniture.
Just as we’re doing, it was focussed on the conversation between characters. Death of a Salesman, The Lowry, Salford, Tuesday, April 29 to Saturday, May 3. Details from www.
thelowry.com.
