QUINNS Rock resident Kathleen Del Casale is directing a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play – widely considered to be one of the 20th century’s greatest – at Wanneroo’s Limelight Theatre this month.
Del Casale said Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, was the story of Willy Loman, a man who realised his life was not the one he had made it out to be.
Although he has worked hard, his family has always lived on the edge of poverty while Willy has constantly told himself and his family that his deserved big break was just around the corner.
“Through the expertly written, interweaving storylines of past and present, the audience begins to realise he has been his own worst enemy,” she said.
“It’s a story of how life can be really tough but, at the end of the day, we can’t blame anyone else for the life we have – we make the decisions and we get to choose.
“Miller was able to write a play that resonates with so many people, in so many different ways.”
The main challenge, according to Del Casale, is doing the play justice over a short rehearsal period.
“We have six weeks to make this happen but I know I have a great team and amazing actors who already feel the characters so deeply.
“As much as there are challenges, we’re certainly ready to overcome those and create a great show.
Acting for the past 10 years, Del Casale has performed, directed or written for Stargate Actors Academy, HEY Fever, Snapshot Youth Theatre Company and Limelight Theatre.
In 2012-13, she travelled to the UK to play May Gibbs in a touring production of River Dreaming and followed it up in 2015-16 with A Land of Legends, a play she wrote, co-directed and stage-managed for another tour.
Del Casale is also working with Agelink Theatre on a Fremantle history project, as both a writer and actor.
“With Death of a Salesman, I can’t think of a better play to direct,” she said.
“The characters are so developed, complicated and nuanced – and the story is so beautifully sad.
“The more I read the script, the more I realise how much there is still to discover in the story.
“I’m a fan of minimalist theatre that challenges its audience to think and this play certainly does that.
“With the complexity of the characters and the poetic lines, I know I don’t need big set pieces and glitzy costumes because the words stand on their own.
“That is a real art and is what makes theatre, and Death of a Salesman, so special.”
Death of a Salesman plays 8pm March 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, and 16 with a 2pm matinee on March 11.
