With the sound of the bass flute, a beam of light lit up at the back of the stage, and Willie Lohman, a salesman in a suit and a top hat, slowly walked into the stage with two huge boxes, and his decent appearance and anxious tone drew closer and closer to the audience as he paced. From August 7 to 22, Lü Liang starred in Arthur Miller's masterpiece "The Death of a Salesman", which was staged at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center and Art Theatre, and the tickets for the performances have been sold out.
"The Death of a Salesman" was produced by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, Tian Hongyi retranslated the script text, directed by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center director Lin Yi, composed by Shi Ling, Zhou Ling'er as stage designer, and starring actors Lv Liang, Song Yining, Han Xiuyi, Gu Xin, Zhang Xin, Lan Haimeng, Liu Peng, etc.
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play by Arthur Miller, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award, and the New York Critics Award in the same year. The play tells the story of the 1930s and 1940s American salesman Willie Lohman in the 24 hours before his death. In his prime, he was reliable and social, his wife Linda ran the house, and his two sons, Biff and Happi, made him proud. However, as time passes, his good fortune seems to be leaving him, and his life is gradually out of control... The play intersperses the glory of Willie's youth with the loneliness of the present, reflecting the shattering of their generation's "American Dream" with the life dilemma of small people. But Arthur Miller said in an interview, "It's a story of love between father and son, who lose love and get it back." This work contains the United States, the salesman, the economic situation, but also about family, life, it is difficult to define in one sentence. ”
Director Lin Yi also highlights "love" in her interpretation of this work, between father and son, between husband and wife, between brothers and friends, in her view, Willy's belief in the "American Dream" is a promise to all Americans, he knows that not everyone has an equal chance of success. What does it mean to live in a society where promises a lot but nothing is guaranteed? This is the question that Arthur Miller asked.
In the past, the "house" image highlighted by the stage design of "Death of a Salesman" became an illusion in this play, just like the "success" that the protagonist Willie Lohmann had been asking for. In order to let the audience enter Willie's inner world, the stage removes obstacles, blurs the boundaries, and the stage lighting with a sense of lens changes, presenting will will be willi Lohman's vision and thoughts in front of the audience. The styling design follows the realistic design of the era described in the script, distinguishing different senses of age from the details, such as the American men wearing mids with stockings in the 1920s to wearing wide-leg frilled suit pants in the 50s.
Lu Liang, who plays Willie Lohman, has read the script 40 years ago, and as he grows older, he gradually has a clearer understanding of the psychology of people under the social environment and social form in the United States reflected by Arthur Miller, "I believe that this work will be universally recognized and resonated with the audience." ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Li Junna Text Editor: Li Junna Photo Editor: Cao Liyuan
Source: Author: Zhuge Yi