All My Sons
| 11 Jan 2007
Action and humanity, suffering and its causes: these are the intensely dramatic themes in All My Sons, a family drama set against the backdrop of World War II. 'Heavy' indeed, but All My Sons is deftly handled throughout. First directed by Elia Kazan in 1947, the play served as a major boost to the career of Arthur Miller as he came to be recognised as one of the finest playwrights of the Twentieth Century.
In the play a father, Joe Keller, discovers that he is likely to have indirectly caused the death of his pilot son by selling faulty plane parts to the Air Force. This theme of guilt-after-the-event is in common with Greek tragedy, of which Miller was a great admirer, but the play also serves as a harsh critique of the American Dream and a tight and involving set piece of human emotions.
All My Sons is a popular play and continues to be performed on a regular basis, but this Lyceum production should be well worth a look. It is directed by the dependable John Dove (Death of a Salesman, Les Liaisons Dangereuses), and stars the impressive Stuart Milligan (Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial, Festival, Jonathan Creek) in the lead role.
In the play a father, Joe Keller, discovers that he is likely to have indirectly caused the death of his pilot son by selling faulty plane parts to the Air Force. This theme of guilt-after-the-event is in common with Greek tragedy, of which Miller was a great admirer, but the play also serves as a harsh critique of the American Dream and a tight and involving set piece of human emotions.
All My Sons is a popular play and continues to be performed on a regular basis, but this Lyceum production should be well worth a look. It is directed by the dependable John Dove (Death of a Salesman, Les Liaisons Dangereuses), and stars the impressive Stuart Milligan (Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial, Festival, Jonathan Creek) in the lead role.
Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, 12 Jan - 10 Feb, Tue àSat, 7.45pm, £10 - £24
http://www.lyceum.org.uk