SALESMAN IN BEIJING

by Arthur Miller ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 1984

There are no traveling salesmen in China. Nor has there been (up till the Last year or so) anything akin to life-insurance--which plays such a crucial role in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Yet, as part of the creative enthusiasm following the end of the Cultural Revolution, the Beijing People's Art Theatre determined to present Miller's classic in 1983, insisting that the playwright himself (who speaks no Chinese) direct the production. Here, then, is Miller's diary-like account of the Salesman rehearsal process--from first read-through (four hours long!) to opening night. The Chinese actors' stow speech rate was only one, relatively small problem. There was the recurring puzzle of how they should approach ""acting American"": time and again Miller fought off grotesque wigs and white-face, encouraging the cast to remain themselves physically, (""Nylon is sprouting out of every head as they crowd together be, fore the two full-length mirrors, in wig heaven after six weeks in the desert of reality."") The actors at first kept slipping into overacting, sentimentality, noble poses and weeping; on the other hand, ""there is a danger I will tame their native reality to make it conform to mine."" The ambiguity of the central role--played by translator/ interpreter Ying--bewildered the Chinese, who condescended to Willy Leman and couldn't identify with his nostalgia for a rugged-individualism past. (""I cannot let the play become a satire""--or an anti-capitalist parable.) And, on a mundane level, the culture-gap led to such hilarious mix-ups as this punching bag for Biff and Happy: ""It appears to be brown leather, about six feet in height, and as big around as a large culvert, with great brass grommets set around its open top. . . ."" Still, ""playing purely by ear"" (in Ying's remarkable translation), the actors--quick, gifted, intuitive--do adapt to the play's direct, confrontational style. Moreover, some of the themes--e.g., the family relations--hit home immediately. Elsewhere, parallels are found to make the emotions more immediate--often with direct, painful reference to the actors' fates during the Cultural Revolution. And if a replacement for Happy turns out to be perfect casting (""I can just see this one on Brighton Beach in July with a babe under each arm""), a few of the wrong notes are also effective--like the prim Chinese actress who plays the sluttish Woman in Boston in chaste, naive, baroque fashion. The outcome? A disastrous preview--with ""a total, irretrievable absence of comprehension"" from the audience, unhinged by Miller's flashbacks and staging tricks--and a splendid opening night. . . with passionate understanding. Not just for theater buffs: a thoughtful, touching log with un-didactic closeups of Chinese artists, fresh angles on the Cultural Revolution, and an affectionate, provocative array of culture-clash details.

Pub Date: May 7, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION