There’s been plenty of productions of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, but Arthur Miller’s lesser known play The Price gets an explosive adaptation at the Marylebone Theatre.
The Price is set around two brothers, estranged for 16 years, who unite to sell their deceased father’s furniture, before the building is torn down.
In the first act, we’re presented with the set, a cluttered attic in a New York brownstone packed with furniture and family heirlooms. We meet Victor Franz (Elliot Cowan) and his wife, Esther (Faye Castelow) and begin to learn more about their lives. He sacrificed his education and joined the police force to support his father after the Great Depression. And after all these years, he now needs money to help get him through his retirement years.
Esther doesn’t work but still seeks a better future for herself and her husband. They discuss trying to get the best deal they can for all the contents but antiques dealer Gregory Solomon (Henry Goodman) has other ideas. The 89-year-old character is the one who brings charm and wit to the stage as he unleashes his clever haggling skills, also trying to keep himself in business. And the end of the first half sees the unexpected arrival off Victor’s estranged brother Walter (John Hopkins), a successful and wealthy surgeon, and this marks the beginning of the visible divide between the two siblings.
It’s the second half where you really get the bang for your buck! It’s confronting, full of conflict, resentment and realities of life, like sibling rivalry, the impact on family dynamics when a parent passes away, duty versus ambition, money, secrets, sacrifices and the worth of their lives.
So what is the price? Gregory becomes a mediator-like representative in the brothers’ conflict highlighting difference and value – of possessions and decisions.
Between all four characters on stage the themes standout, not just in 1968 when it was first performed on Broadway, but even now, almost five decades later. And that’s what makes Arthur Miller’s work stand the test of time, because it’s these themes that continue to resonate then and now.
Director Jonathan Munby does a wonderful job bringing family conflict to life on this packed set of physical belongings in terms of all the furniture and metaphorical themes. Everything about it is real. The build-up in the first half felt slightly stagnant in places, but boy did the second half make up for it with Victor (Elliot Cowan) delivering an outstanding performance when he really learns of the truth surrounding the realities of his own life.
The performance runs for around 2 hours and 45 minutes, which includes an interval and with the ever-growing crescendo in the second half, you just want more.
The Price is on until 7 June so there’s plenty of time to catch this absolutely gripping performance. It’s worth every penny and every minute!
Review: Sunita Jaswal Photo: Mark Senior