Brian Dennehy, Framed Death of a Salesman, Signed Flyer 2005

A FRAMED BRIAN DENNEHY, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, ARTHUR MILLER PLAY, SIGNED FLYER. MAY 2005

FLYER SIGNED IN PERSON AT THE LYRIC THEATRE, SHAFTESBURY AVENUE LONDON

"This Broadway transfer is built around a towering performance from Brian Dennehy in the title role. Already he has been garlanded with awards for his New York and Chicago performances and there seems little doubt that some English equivalents will follow by the end of the year.

The backstage team, led by multi-award-winning director Robert Falls from the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, is all-American and is the backbone of a production that won four Tonys and also a stream of other awards in the United States.

Supporting the bull-like Dennehy on stage is a more evenly-balanced cast with the remainder of the family played by English actors, all sporting excellent American accents, but with several other key parts played by original cast members.

Our Salesman, long past his sell-by date, is 60 year-old Willy Loman. As he enters his twilight years, this exhausted man is very much a King Lear for our times. Indeed, lighting designer Michael Philippi bathes him in twilit gloom throughout, except when Loman's mind wanders back to sunnier days in every sense, twenty years before. It may be no coincidence that Mark Wendland's scenic design, which perfectly catches time and place, is based on a large revolve that symbolises his life.

Dennehy's wonderful performance, never better than when his character is either violently angry or totally deranged, is almost matched by those of several of his colleagues. These include last year's award-winning Hecuba, Clare Higgins as his brave wife Linda; American actor Howard Witt as Charley, his only friend but a man whom, through misplaced pride, he cannot bring himself to respect; and Messrs Henshall - a revelation - and Bazeley." British Theatre Guide