Sinhalese version of 'Death of a Salesman':

A personal tragedy against the milieu

by Indeewara THILAKARATHNE and Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

The Sinhalese version of the famed American playwright Arthur Miller's, 'Death of a Salesman', (Velendage Maranaya) by Jerome L. de Silva was recently staged at Lionel Wendt Theatre, Colombo. Although the play depicts the 1940's American society through a story of a middle class salesman who tries hard to realise the American dream, Jerome has successfully translated the play into Sinhala retaining its original zest.The story revolves around Willy Loman's family and the personal tragedy of Loman who fails to realise the American dream. One night, Willy Loman, the travel-weary salesman based in New York City, returns home. Although surprised to see him, Linda, his patient wife welcomes Willy. From the subsequent conversation, it is revealed that Loman finds it hard to travel long distance due to his ageing.

Loman's two sons, Biff and Happy wake up to Willy's loud muttering and Biff talks to Happy about his work experience in a farm in Texas and describes how the house brings unpleasant memories. Throughout the play Willy exhibits his life skills, however, he does not see his ability to repair the house and make it useful. His perception of success is the `American dream', achieving material success as his late brother Ben Loman did when he amassed a fortune in diamond business in Africa. However, `American dream' is beyond Willy's means. Whenever Willy asks Ben to explain how he became a millionaire, Ben replies "When I walked into the jungle, I was 17. When I walked out, I was 21, and by God I was rich." Willy firmly believes that he could also become rich by luck.

The play also reveals the failures of Willy Loman's sons. The drama concludes with the tragic death of Willy Loman.

The story is enacted from the perspective of the main character Willy Loman, a tragic character who becomes a victim of the milieu. He drifts between the present and the idealistic past.

Here in Velendage Maranaya, the character of Willy Loman is played with its complex emotions. Though it is a complex character, which requires hard training and understanding of the mind-set of the salesman, the director has derived the best performance from the actor. This young actor should be commended for his realistic portrayal of the character. He has understood not only the manner in which the dialogues should be delivered but also subtle undertones of them which convey the emotions and reflect the state of mind of the character. Apart from Willy Loman's character, Linda, Biff, Happy and Ben and the other characters are portrayed realistically. The play is marked for its brilliant costume design, apt music scores and the lighting which plays a vital role . For instance, spot lights have been used to signal the past. It should be mentioned here that portrayal of characters is natural and there is hardly any instance where actors and actresses over played their allotted roles.

The roles of the two sons and that of Ben, though not the lead roles in the play, reveal the failure of Loman as a father and a kin. Although Wily Loman is endowed with talents and life skills, he does not realise them.

The tragic character of Loman, on one hand, represents the generation in 1940's in America who persued the `American dream', material success in life and a personal failure, on the other hand.

Linda is a kind and patient wife who is partially to be blamed for Loman's situation in life.

One of the salient characteristics of Jerome's translation of the original play is his ability to recreate typical American culture.

The technique of stream of consciousness has been used to relate the story from Loman's point of view. 'Velendage Maranaya' excels in many aspects including costume design, make-up and brilliant portrayal of characters.

The director Jerome should deserve accolades for not only translating the Author Miller's classical play `Death of a Salesman' into Sinhala, but also introducing it to Sinhala theatre.