Gerry Colgan reviews Death of a Salesman at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire
Death of a Salesman
Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire
Arthur Miller's greatest play remains better than the best of his iconic American peers - O'Neill, Albee, Williams and the rest. With that much a given, opinion must focus on the individual production, and the odious comparison is not easily avoided. But the Keegan Theatre, from Washington, incorporates sufficient excellence into its interpretation to join those who have given a true reading to this masterpiece.
The first surprise is to find Willy Loman, the personification of defeat, a physically towering man who dwarfs the two athletic sons whose deficiencies have ruled and ruined his life. Brian Hemmingsen, in an astonishing shift of the psyche, conveys an inner honesty and unselfishness that reduce him to an easy victim. From the start, he is on the skids to oblivion, a sacrificial goat.
His wife, Linda, in a sound performance by Kerry Waters Lucas, is less incisive than is usual, but nestles into the role to fulfil its main function. She is Willy's faithful ally, the only one who sees beyond the failure to the gentle man beneath. Their marriage means everything to her, but even she cannot fully comprehend the fate that awaits them.
The two sons are also on the right inside track: wastrel Happy (Mike Innocenti) is already lost to vain ambition and worldly pleasures, while Biff (Mark Rhea) finally meets Willy head-on in a bid to find a life of his own, and that collision is one of the great climaxes of modern theatre, a shattering catharsis.
Smaller roles are persuasively taken by Timothy Lynch (Ben), Eric Lucas (Charley), Christopher Dinolfo (Bernard) and Eric Messner (Howard). Director Dorothy Neumann ensures that the company's current visit to Ireland is a welcome one.
• Runs until Sat, then goes on national tour
Gerry Colgan
