Salesman in China
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/35938
In-person event
NAC English Theatre presents the Stratford Festival production In 1983, legendary playwright Arthur Miller embarked on an audacious journey to China, joining forces with theatre luminary Ying Ruocheng and the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Their ambitious project? Staging a Mandarin-language production of Death of a Salesman, with Ying portraying the iconic Willy Loman and Miller – despite not speaking a word of Mandarin – directing. Facing the monumental challenge of...
Babs Asper Theatre,1 Elgin Street,Ottawa,Canada
- In-person event
- English
- Ages 14+
NAC English Theatre presents the Stratford Festival production
In 1983, legendary playwright Arthur Miller embarked on an audacious journey to China, joining forces with theatre luminary Ying Ruocheng and the Beijing People's Art Theatre. Their ambitious project? Staging a Mandarin-language production of Death of a Salesman, with Ying portraying the iconic Willy Loman and Miller – despite not speaking a word of Mandarin – directing.
Facing the monumental challenge of presenting a play deeply rooted in the American Dream to a Communist Chinese audience, Ying and Miller grapple with logistical and personal obstacles, while operating under the scrutiny of a global audience. Skillfully navigating clashing worldviews and external pressures, their experience serves as a litmus test for the power of art to bring these two polarized worlds together.
Drawing inspiration from the memoirs of Miller and Ruocheng, playwrights Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy take audiences from the rehearsal hall to opening night and unveil the unlikely East-West collaboration that forged a daring international alliance on the stage.
Presented in English and Mandarin, with subtitles.
Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.
- By Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy
- Suggested by the memoirs of Arthur Miller and Ying Ruocheng
- Chinese Translations by Fang Zhang
- Directed by Jovanni Sy
