Ian Hughes (left) and George Henare lead a cast that makes Miller's play as relevant as when it was written in 1949. Photo / Supplied
Peach Theatre's reverential approach to Arthur Miller's 1949 classic offers a traditional reading that allows this 20th century masterpiece to speak for itself - with all its ambiguities and contradictions intact.
In opting for a post-war setting, the production demonstrates there is no need for any up-to-the-minute modernisation to highlight
the play's continuing relevance.
The play speaks to contemporary audiences with an unsettling power due to Arthur Miller's invigorating refusal to settle for easy answers and his profound respect for the struggles of ordinary people.
Director Jesse Peach's accomplished stagecraft finds an easy rhythm that accommodates the play's hallucinatory mix of reality and illusion while creating plenty of space for superb performances from an outstanding cast.
There is little that is likeable in the character of Willy Loman but George Henare endows this iconic figure with an irrepressible vitality which forces us to recognise that his obsessive yearning for greatness is truly admirable.
