Reviewed by James Karas
Salesman in China is a fascinating play by Leanna Bodie and Jovanni Sy that received its premiere at the Stratford Festival this year. The salesman of the title is Arthur Miller’s Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and China is where Miller went in 1983 to direct his great play.
He quickly discovered the chasm that divides the two countries. The actors of the National Theatre of China did not know what a salesman or life insurance are because they do not exist in China. And that was just the beginning of misunderstandings or fundamental differences that appeared unbridgeable.
The Chinese actors led by Ying Ruocheng (Adrian Pang), a Chinese actor and director, and Vice-Minister of Culture, is a sophisticated gentlemen who must negotiate between the gruff and impatient Miller (Tom McCamus) and the actors and behind the scenes personnel of the theatre company. Miller insists on no wigs and no makeup. The Chinese find that unacceptable. Americans are seen with wigs and makeup in the theatre in China and how can they show them now without those fundamental accessories?
Ying Ruocheng (Adrian Pang) is a significant figure in Chinese theatre but he shows great deference to Miller. He is criticised for it. He is rehearsing for the role of Willy Loman and we see several short scenes from Death of a Salesman being rehearsed in Chinese. How does one deal with the woman (not his wife) that Willy sleeps with, slaps her bum and is therefore considered a “slut” by the Chinese? The Chinese actors cannot fathom a woman of such repute being represented on stage and an actor being slapped that way.
Miller in Salesman in China. Stratford Festival 2024. Photo: David Hou.
There are some hilarious misunderstandings and some dramatic scenes. Miller finds out that Ying whom he considers a friend is also reporting all that is happening including personal information that Miller discloses to him to the authorities. Ying considers it as something that is simply expected and done in China. Miller has memories of the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) and the witch hunts of the 1950’s. He refused to “name names” to the committee and was imprisoned and in China, he finds himself betrayed by being reported to the authorities.
The misunderstandings, the cultural and social differences reach their apogee when after weeks of rehearsal, Ying gets cold feet and refuses to perform on opening night.
Co-playwrights Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy have gone beyond Arthur Miller’s book about his trip to China to direct the play. The have examined diary entries by Miller and the autobiography of Ying for information. We are informed that most of the play is factual but there are conversations that the authors did not know about and invented them. They are more interested in catching the essential relationships, the drama and the humour rather than trying to write a documentary about it. It was a wise choice that works superbly. Sy also directs the production and does an outstanding job.
Salsman in China is a bilingual play with about a third of it in Chinese. When Chinese is spoken, the dialogue is translated into English and shown on subtitles. The opposite holds true when English is spoken. This is highly commendable as opposed to having the Chinese actors speak English as foreigners in whatever accent they can manage.
Salesman in China is a superb play that receives an outstanding production. Tom McCamus gives an exceptional performance as the gruff, sometimes arrogant famous American who changes into a more tolerant man of the theatre. Pang as Ying is a gentleman who has lived according to the mores of his culture, including reporting even private conversations to the authorities. He gets cold feet before the opening of the play but he is persuaded to go on stage.
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Salesman in China by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy continues until October 26, 2024 at
the Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca
James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Ptess
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