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Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy's

Salesman in China

August 3rd - October 26thAvon TheatreTicket Info
Generally Positive Reviews based on 6 Critics
  • mid 49% of shows in the 2024 season
6 Reviews
Comments

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The Wall Street Journal - Charles Isherwood

A First-Class Production

“It’s a complex, engaging and stimulating work, enhanced by a first-class production and a superb cast. The play’s only flaw is its sheer scope: The authors are so scrupulous about including as much context exploring the characters’ histories, as well as the turbulent social and political issues surrounding the production, that they cannot always keep the focus from blurring.

But if the canvas is broad, it is painted in colors both subtle and rich, and the play is even infused with moments of humor.

…the beauty and truth of Mr. Pang’s performance shine forth with such intensity that any flaws in the writing are easily overlooked.”

Read Full Review09/05/2024

Ontario Stage - Kelly Monaghan

Transcendent, Broadway-Worthy

“The Stratford Festival has a major hit on its hands with the transcendent, Broadway-worthy world premiere of Salesman in China, by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy, directed by Sy..

Salesman in China is set in 1983 when China, having suffered the two disasters of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution under Mao, was coming to its senses under Deng Xiaoping and, as we can see in retrospect, taking the first tentative steps that would bring it to the brink of world domination today.

Part of that journey involved opening up to the rest of the world, allowing Ying (the astonishing Singaporean actor Adrian Pang) to realize one of his dreams, playing Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman under the direction of Arthur Miller (a towering Tom McCamus). As Ying says, if China is to be a great nation it must build bridges to other great nations.”

Read Full Review08/31/2024

The Toronto Star - Joshua Chong

Simply Breathtaking

“The brilliance of [Leanna] Brodie and [Jovanni] Sy’s work is in its chimeric quality, how it shifts in tone so gracefully and unobtrusively. It’s at once a play about family, a psychological drama and a slice-of-life glimpse into this ephemeral moment in theatre history…

Another highlight is Sy’s gorgeous direction. “Salesman in China” is slippery, so often transcending time and space as it moves between reality and Ying’s memories. But Sy stages it all with the utmost clarity so that the final product is simply breathtaking.”

Read Full Review08/28/2024

The Stratford Beacon herald - Aisling Murphy

Sparks Fly

“[Adrian] Pang captures [Ying] Ruocheng’s dissonant layers with grace and understanding in a performance that ought to be remembered as one of the strongest at this year’s Festival. When Pang and [Tom] McCamus, equally generous in his performance as the brutish Miller, go toe to toe, you can almost see the sparks fly against the muted beiges of Joanna Yu’s impactful set.”

Read Full Review08/26/2024

Our Theatre Voice - Geoffrey Coulter

Genius!

“[Jovanni] Cy’s inspired staging and use of cinematic techniques for flashbacks and dream sequences is masterful…

But the show really belongs to Adrian Pang in his Stratford debut as Ying Ruocheng. This man’s charged performance is a masterclass in fine acting! It’s hard to ascribe an adjective that adequately defines his work in this starring role, but I’ll start with genius!

“Salesman in China” is the season’s most exhilarating and conversation-inducing work.”

Read Full Review08/25/2024

The Globe and Mail - J. Kelly Nestruck

Tremendously Poignant

“The Stratford Festival has never mounted as impressive a world premiere as Salesman in China, a brilliant new backstage drama by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy about a production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman performed at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre in 1983…

Salesman in China’s main focus is on the Chinese actor and translator Ying Ruocheng, played by the Singaporean theatre artist Adrian Pang in a tremendously poignant performance filled with humour.”

Read Full Review08/25/2024

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