It’s an exciting time in Stratford as a major artistic endeavor, Salesman in China, officially opens on Friday, August 23. Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy’s new play brings to life an ambitious and daring act of cultural cross-pollination: the 1983 Mandarin production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman in Beijing. The play, a Stratford Festival-Banff Centre co-commission, produced in association with Canada’s National Arts Centre, is directed by Jovanni Sy with Chinese translations by Fang Zhang. It will be presented in English and Mandarin with surtitles in both languages.
The production features two titans of the stage, Tom McCamus as Arthur Miller and Adrian Pang as Ying Ruocheng, the historical figures whose diaries inspired the play.
In 1983, playwright Arthur Miller made history by travelling to China to direct a production of his classic play Death of a Salesman starring Ying Ruocheng. Working with the Beijing People’s Art Theatre, Miller and his collaborators struggled to bridge the gap between languages, cultures and national identities for an audience long shut off from the West.
“I know the feeling of living between worlds and serving as a bridge between cultures,” says Sy, who is at the helm of the production, which features 22 actors, and is thrilled to bring “so much incredible Asian talent” to the Stratford stage.
Salesman in China features Jo Chim as Wu Shiliang, Phoebe Hu as Zhu Lin, Derek Kwan as Cao Yu, Ying Qianli, Mo, Street Busker, Sarah Orenstein as Inge Morath and Agnes Tong as Liu Jun, Qiu with George Chiang as Zhu Xu, Harriet Chung as Auntie Zhao, Hui Li, Howard Dai as Ding, Policeman, Justin Eddy as Chinese Opera Performer, Theatre Patron, Tai Wei Foo as Chinese Opera Performer, Theatre Patron, Steven Hao as Li Shilong, Kim Horsman as Understudy, Ziye Hu as Guan, Nestor Lozano Jr. as Chinese Opera Performer, Gordon S. Miller as Anthony Calderon, Matthew Wang as Ying Da, Nick Fangzheng Wang as Understudy, Asher Albert Waxman as Ying Da, Angus Yam as Mi Tiezeng, Red Guard, and Harmony Yen as Shen Huihui, Red Guard.
The creative team includes Set Designer Joanna Yu , Costume Designer Ming Wong , Lighting Designer Sophie Tang , Composer and Sound Designer Alessandro Juliani, Co-Projection Designers Caroline MacCaull and Sammy Chien (Chimerik), Co-Dramaturges Nina Lee Aquino and Bob White, Fight Director Anita Nittoly, and Movement Director Harriet Chung.
Salesman in China officially opens on Friday, August 23, and runs until October 26 at the Avon Theatre. Tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca or by calling 1.800.567.1600. Audience may take a direct shuttle bus from Toronto to the theatre. For more details, please visit: www.stratfordfestival.ca/whatson/busbooking.”
Special Interview with Jo CHIM (Cantonese)
