Arthur Miller is often declared the greatest American Playwright of the last century. Though I might declare The Crucible his finest work, most school teens and theatre bugs will no doubt learn toward Death of a Salesman.

This is a raging, shoulder shaking, alarm call for the so called ‘American Dream’. Did it ever really exist? And for whom, exactly? Recent American politics would mirror these sour ideas tenfold. Willy Loman is the salesman in question, a deeply exhausted man of business who drives hundreds of miles for his work. A job with little gratis nor promise of a promotion, he like many before and after remain under the thumb of ‘the man’. With two grown up sons and a wife, everything appears stable, till the emergence of attempted suicide, rising debt and matrimonial troubles.

In this production from Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Raw Material, I’m sad to say I was left rather cold. There appears to be several things in need of tweaking. Dare I say, the actors could have been mic’d up higher, the musicians (who like the actors not in their scenes) watch from the sides, could have been utilised much more than their fleeting folk and bluesy bars. The American accents are also tricky, proven by poor to passable attempts from the company. The whole show simply should have had more electricity.

The set is average to fair: planks of wood suggest the Loman garden, a screen of a tree towers above and some props offer the home interiors itself. Its tourable, at least. David Hayman as Loman, has good tics and knows the piece well, but it still doesn’t work as a lead. I think it’s the quietness and the lack of real vibrancy. As Happy and Biff, Daniel Cahil and Michael Wallace are the backbone of the show. The constant seeking of approval from their father is paramount, getting the right job and even a declaration of a marriage proposal is never acknowledged. They do what they can in the heady roles and almost get away with it. Perhaps the strongest casting choices in this.

The weary wife Linda played by Beth Marshall, is a hard role to crack. She must support her husband, constantly remind her children of their fathers major issues, as well as keep the house going. Marshal plays the tired but bright role well enough, it’s a fine example of a great female character being behind a typical man. Stuart Ennis is Willy’s brother Ben, looking like composer Charles Ives, a distinguished gentleman who fared well in business. We only see him in some of Willy’s multiple flashbacks, Ben is only ever there to boast and remind Willy of his lack of luck in life. Ennis played this with fun and pomp, the only old world fibre to the show, originally set in the late 1940s. Other cast members are by the numbers, though some moments of humour flickered, some tensions almost palpable.

Runs at New Theatre till 5 April 2025.