Death of a Salesman - National Theatre 1996

When his children come to visit, particularly 'Biff' his favorite son, he begins to lose control of his mind, talking to himself and wondering back to past events in his life when Biff was young.

This is a superb play acted quite brilliantly by Alun Armstrong as Willy Loman . He is a sensation in this role. It was for me one of the best performances I have seen on stage. He captured the torment and anguish of this broken man perfectly. You could feel his pain and share in his agony, it was acted so realistically. I have seen Armstrong on stage before and on TV and films, and I can tell you he excelled in this.

The play is a little average at the start as David Thacker, the director, slowly builds the characters and the atmosphere. But after the interval the play is mesmerizing and touching and grabs all of your attention, no looking at your watch for how long is left!

Marjorie Yates who plays 'Linda', Willy's wife is also exceptional, particularly in the closing scenes as she finally lets out all her emotion. So too is Mark Strong who played Biff.

This is a superb production of a great story with some noteworthy acting. It is drama like this that makes theatre a medium that cannot be touched or replaced. It is not to be missed.