We are happy to announce that Soulpepper has decided to extend both A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman until the 20th of November! Click here for tickets. EAP has seen both shows in the Distillery District at the Young Centre for the Arts and we really, really enjoyed them. Both are powerful productions with very strong casts and intelligent direction.I personally was more moved by Death of a Salesman. Real-life couple and Soulpepper founders Joseph Ziegler and Nancy Palk play Willy and Linda Loman to perfection. Ziegler ability to sway from tenderness, sadness and nostalgia to anger, despair and rage is a true testament to his capabilities, and proves yet again that he is one of the finest actors in our city. And Palk is simply superb as Linda. She is so present, open and sincere in the role.
Now let's take a moment and discuss the piece itself. Arthur Miller was a phenomenal playwright and Death of a Salesman could arguably be his best. The language of the play has a profound impact and the sweeping themes still resonate today. Betrayal, loss, love, abandonment, heartbreak, sacrifice, extraordinary tragedy in ordinary lives, and the dynamics of family relationships are still at the forefront of human existence. What was most surprising was how relatable I found the entire play. Miller clearly believes that the tragic hero of the modern world is the ordinary man, and really, so do I. The piece is moving, profound and made me question my own beliefs (or are they just illusions?).Here are my favourite quotes from the Death of a Salesman:
I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts. —Willy
Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it. —Willy
It’s a measly manner of existence. To get on that subway on the hot mornings in summer… To suffer fifty weeks a year for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors, with your shirt off. And always to have to get ahead of the next fella. And still – that’s how you build a future. —Biff
Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never get out of the jungle that way. —Ben
Gotta break your neck to see a star in this yard. —Willy
I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper… But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. —Linda
And the best two are:
You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away. A man is not a piece of fruit. -Willy
A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man. -Linda
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