Theaterian’s Death of a Salesman: The tragedy of a common man is still relevant 

It is difficult to 'discover' something different from American playwright Arthur Miller's immensely popular classic, "Death of a Salesman". The two-act tragedy, which premiered on Broadway in February 1949, has been reprised in hundreds of languages and thousands of times by the finest thespians of the world ever seen.

Nothing is new to be known, or so it seemed. 

However, Theaterian's first production and 14th show of the famous play brought about the torturous despair of existence and set the stage on fire with eclectic performances throughout its 2:30-hour run-time at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's National Theatre Hall on Tuesday.

It is curious and equally fathomable that this age-old and revered classic still draws people to the theatres and astonishes its recipient with the same repugnant taste of failure, missed opportunities, regrets, and life–as a whole, at most. Theaterian is massively successful in this regard, with a hall full of audiences who didn't hesitate to applaud the performers all through the run-time, and it was rightfully well-deserved.

The plot of the play ticks all the common elements of Greek tragedy, except when it is not as noble or wealthy or as a godsend as Greek tragedies are. The "Death of a Salesman" is a tragedy of, and for, the common man, who suffers all throughout his life for a better future, which he can never get. It is like the play's foreseeable ending: the death of the common man after being intricately webbed into a scheme of financial exploitation and fraudulence in a capitalist society.

We all know the story of the play's protagonist, Willy Loman, a travelling salesman, brilliantly portrayed by Tohid Biplob this time. We meet the age-old, exasperated, defeated Willy, who is travelling back and forth amidst his memories and the present time in the perpetration of death. The delusional, nearly schizophrenic Willy, who has the enthusiasm and passion of a 19-year-old, who believes he can change his life and fortune but never does.

The cold curtain of death remains an all-encompassing, prevalent theme of the play. However, the notion of this 'death' remains inquisitory: is it the physical process of death of Willy as a person or the death of his pungent, tired yet optimistic soul?

Miller's classic Salesman isn't about one poor common man crushed by the demands of his job. It's about the dehumanising horror of capitalist systems and their soul-crushing inexorability. The play is rooted in a particular cultural and historical mindset and on the premises of the 20th century postwar United States and its nimble steps towards turning away from an economic and sociological tragedy to ensure a bright new future. It fails effectively for those who cannot sell themselves enough and, most evidently, by our protagonist Willy, properly.

We find Willy (Tohid Biplob) and his wife Linda, exquisitely portrayed by Poly Chowdhury, having a conversation that escalates from love, and warmth to extreme nuances of rage. While we see Willy as he travels around small towns, hocking a vehicle we never see, Linda acts as his soul. He finds a constant source of stability and support in Linda. Poly Chowdhury's natural charisma and a strong background in theatrical studies give the rest of the magic the character needed in this production.

Linda is the householder, after all; she does the bills, tries to save every dollar to fix the fridge, the car, and the roof, and even makes socks that Willy, at a point in life, traded for his infidelity. But now, even Willy himself is starting to worry. He's distracted and susceptible to lapses in concentration, becoming increasingly disoriented. He keeps thinking about committing suicide so that his family of Linda and two unemployed sons get the insurance money and live happily after him.

Throughout the play, we see how his two sons, Happy, portrayed by Ahmed Sujan, and Biff, portrayed by Mainul Islam Tauhid, try to improve their financial situation to some level, but for a family long nourished on puffery and self-delusion, the confrontation with failure threatens to overwhelm them all.

Towards the end, we see the delusional and hopeful salesman, Willy Loman's eventual demise after he knocks on countless old and archaic doors in vain, only to realise the truth of his existence. We see Willy taste death in numerous forms before his eventual physical death, and he took his life not out of agony but of truth.

Tohid Biplob said, "I left my corporate job six months ago to internalise this character of Willy Loman. See, this character is not far from us, for instance, I took my own father as a guideline for this character. With him in mind, I tried to follow a mix of Russian theatre practitioners Konstantin Stanislavski and Meyerhold's acting methods to portray this complex character." 

He continues, "The character is delusional, schizophrenic, and at the same time rooted in his misery. It was difficult to incorporate with this character, and it took time, but I think at the end of the process I could blend in with this character, so much so that I will need time to shake it off." Biplob received encores of applause from the audience, during his performance on-stage.

Poly Chowdhury, who brilliantly portrayed the character of Linda, said, "Linda is a character that is relatable to all women around us. While everything breaks down, Linda remains calm, dignified, and as a centre point of his family, just like our mothers."

"I don't believe in traditional acting methods or remembering lines before each play, rather, we made these situations and dialogues part of ourselves and only reciprocated to each other, as normally as we do in our daily lives. I think that's the secret behind the success and relatability of this play," continued Poly.

Each and every element of the production design was so cunningly placed; the melancholic background score, the clever usage of smoke, and the lighting were a testament to how the director of the play, Ashiqur Rahman Leeon, used all the arrows in his quiver to make this play an instant success.

All performers acted brilliantly, especially the character of Charlie, played by Amirul Mamun, and Ben, played by Abdul Hai.

The director of the play, Ashiqur Rahman Leeon, who is an associate professor at Dhaka University's Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, said, "Fateh Lohani translated the play, and we used the technique 'stream of consciousness' for a better progression and understanding of the play."

Shahman Moishan, an assistant professor at Dhaka University, who came to watch the play, said, "I think Theaterian showcased an electric theatrical production. Tragedy and the common man! That's what Arther Miller called in its initial preface, and that is what remains still."

"We, as audiences, can relate to the salesman Willy Loman because a salesman lives in each and every one of us. Willy is a representation of how each of us has to sell ourselves to persist in this world, and that is why we could relate to his saddening life, despair, hopelessness, and desperation," said Dheeman Chandra Sen, assistant director of the play.

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"The story is from the time of the great depression, and it's a story of how primary elements of a sociological structure inadvertently fail one by one under the pretext of capitalism. So, what happens to a person who cannot sell themselves anymore?" said the director in his concluding remarks.