ONE of the greatest plays of the twentieth-century is set to tour the UK with a full Scottish cast as leading actor David Hayman says it will be a “wonderful opportunity” to show off some of the country’s best stage talent.
Best known for his roles in Sid and Nancy and Dad’s Army the Glasgow-born actor Hayman will lead a production of the American author Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman this Spring across the UK.
The play will take audiences through a thrilling journey of the final 24 hours of Willy Loman’s life, played by Hayman, which are filled with his memories, dreams, and struggles as his world unravels making him face the truth about his life and legacy in pursuit of the American dream.
Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman is widely considered as one of the great masterpieces of twentieth-century stage writing.
Opening on March 5 and running for five nights at the Pavilion in Glasgow, Hayman said the play is a “wonderful opportunity” for Scottish theater to show off “the best of our talents” and to bring the world-renowned story “alive on stage”.
He added that the production is hardly done in Scotland and offers people the rare chance to see the “really powerful story” firsthand as it is also due to play at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh from March 19 to 22.
Hayman said: “Normally you get great tragedies that are about kings and queens and despots and tyrants and all the rest of it.
“This just an ordinary man, he's a salesman, travels up and down the coast of New England, Boston, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York selling his wares.
“He lives in a fantasy world.
“He thinks he's a successful salesman, but he's up to his arse in debt, and that bipolar reality of his destroys his family and brings him to a very dramatic end.
“It’s a wonderful tale about family.”
Death of a Salesman is a timeless classic tale of ambition, family, and the price of chasing success and is being brought to theaters across the UK by Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Raw Material.
Despite the stage play being written in 1949 Hayman believes the story still resonates so well with audiences today due to being about the “every man” and that it plays on the story that everyone has a dream.
Hayman said: “It's about those dreams being shattered and about what's important in life.
“Relationships and love within our families, but he's an extraordinary individual.”
The play's proteaginous, Loman, suffers from bipolar disorder and the story follows his difficulties in grasping the reality of the world he lives in and the intricacies of his relationship with his family while battling thoughts of suicide.
Miller originally wanted to call the play Inside His Head, which Hayman said gives a great glimpse into the American author’s mindset when writing the play.
The Scottish actor said the American classic was chosen by director Andy Arnold and Hayman following the success of the production of Cyprus Avenue which the pair worked on last year together.
Hayman said the hard-hitting black comedy, Cyprus Avenue, was a “huge hit” at the Pavilion last year and that he wanted to offer more street dramas for the audiences at the iconic Scottish theater rather than just “comedy and tribute bands”.
“We said we'd love to do an American classic, Death of a Salesman, and they loved the idea,” Hayman said.
He added: “When you're playing to packed houses you know it's a great choice.
“They've made a terrific choice.
Hayman continued: “If you think back in 1900, Glasgow had over 40 theaters.
“It only had a population of a million people but had over 40 cinemas.
“We love going to live theater, whether it be variety or dance music hall or whether it be straight theater or going to the movies.
“It's in our DNA, so to see it back in a theater like the Pavilion which holds like 1200 people, it's fantastic.”
The production which runs from the start of March until the start of May will include dates in Dublin, Cardiff, Birmingham and Crewe.
Hayman said it’s a great opportunity for the show to travel and showcase Scotland’s talent as the production is fully Scottish and has a “big cast” of a cast of 12 actors.
He added: “It's a great investment in Scottish talent.”
You can click here for more tour information about dates and tickets.
