Death of a Salesman returns to China

It was a big deal when the Beijing People's Art Theater produced Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Death of a Salesman in 1979. The good thing was the company invited the playwright to Beijing to direct the play. The bad thing was the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) had just finished, and Chinese people could not understand why the salesman kills himself to get the life insurance money for his family.

Three decades later, Beijing People's Art Theater, arguably the country's best drama troupe, revives this milestone work to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Miller passed away in 2005, but this time around it could be Chinese people who best understand the play, as the country commercializes at a crazy speed.

The new production is directed by Li Liuyi and features veteran actor Ding Zhicheng (pictured above) as the salesman.

7:30 pm, until April 19, Capital Theater, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-5166-4511, 5166-4611, 400-656-5050.