Play reimagines Arthur Miller’s staging in China of his drama Death of a Salesman
- Salesman in China recounts Miller and Ying Ruocheng’s Cold War-era collaboration on a Chinese version of the anti-capitalist play
![From left: Steven Hao, Howard Dai, Adrian Pang and Tom McCamus in a scene from Salesman in China during its premiere at the 2024 Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada. Photo: David Hou](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/40a92f4b-e674-4e88-8af4-ee8628af4508_65f153ce.jpg?itok=flc7ciAB&v=1722572906)
In 1983, Arthur Miller directed a landmark version of his play Death of a Salesman in Beijing with a full Chinese cast performing in Mandarin.
It was a touchstone moment in Sino-American cultural relations, not just because of the ideological significance of staging a work so critical of American capitalism in the heart of Communist China, but it also brought together each country’s leading dramatic personality for a collaboration still talked about in theatre circles.
Miller was the pre-eminent writer known by many, but Ying Ruocheng – who translated the play into Chinese and played the lead role of Willy Loman – was just as monumental a figure.
![Actor and playwright Ying Ruocheng at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, in Hong Kong, in 1985. Photo: SCMP Actor and playwright Ying Ruocheng at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, in Hong Kong, in 1985. Photo: SCMP](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/02/4ae0b908-0936-43a4-bef5-260a901aac96_5925a5bb.jpg)
His complicated collaboration with Miller on Death of A Salesman has now been turned into its own semi-fictitious drama, premiering this month at The Stratford Festival’s Avon Theatre (it opens on August 26, with previews from August 3). The Canadian festival is known for its Shakespeare line-up, but it has also developed a reputation for staging new works.
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