Death of a Salesman, Young Vic

Arthur Miller's masterful, Pulitzer-winning 1949 play Death of a Salesman is a mainstay of American drama. The tragedy of deluded travelling salesman Willy Loman has played out all round the world in regular revivals and plentiful adaptations.

Director Marianne Elliott will re-imagine the show in a bold new production at The Young Vic. Fresh from her successful gender-swapped Sondheim revival, Elliott is adept at re-framing modern classics to enhance contemporary relevance. This new version of Death of a Salesman will tell the story through the eyes of an African American family.

A black cast, combining the considerable talents of Wendell Pierce, Sharon D. Clarke and Arinzé Kene, will play the Loman family. Known globally for starring in on screen in The Wire, Suits and Selma, American actor Wendell Pierce will make his UK stage debut as the titular Salesman Willy Loman. Stage and screen regular Sharon D. Clarke, who's been bringing the house down in West End musical Caroline or Change, will play Linda Loman. And, rising star writer and actor Arinzé Kene (Misty, Bush Theatre and West End; Girl from the North Country, Old Vic and West End) will play Biff Loman.

With a story revolving around the elusive and toxic search for success, Death of a Salesman still chimes with contemporary concerns. And Miller's famous depiction of a man to whom 'attention must be paid' offers plenty of potential for a racially-charged re-interpretation.

We look forward to seeing how the well-known exploration of failed American dreams plays out from a new perspective. Tickets to Death of a Salesman at the Young Vic are likely to sell out ahead of opening night, so we recommend booking promptly.