THE AMERICAN DREAM IN LIVERPOOL: DEATH OF A SALESMAN
21.10.2026HNC’s Year 13 A Level English Literature students recently enjoyed a performance of Death of a Salesman at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre, experiencing one of the key plays studied in the final year live on stage.
Death of a Salesman is a classic piece of theatre, first performed on Broadway in 1949 and written by American playwright, Arthur Miller. Exploring the dark side of the American dream through the eyes of ageing salesman, Willy Loman, the play’s themes of family, disappointment, capitalism, and identity lead to a tragic outcome for Willy as he struggles to separate his dreams from his reality. Due to its complex and challenging story, and how it encourages a wide range of different interpretations, it is a key text that is studied as part of the A Level Literature course – and a recent trip to the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool brought this text to life in an engaging and emotive performance.
On the day, the group had lunch together in Liverpool before enjoying the performance in one of the city’s highest rated theatres. After watching the well-reviewed performance, the group were lucky enough to meet the actors Cyril Nri, who played Willy Loman, and Noah Olaoye, who played Bernard and Howard Wagner, gaining another level of understanding of the play from the actors’ own perspectives.
Siobhan Watts, Teacher of A Level English Literature shares more “Death of a Salesman is one of the key texts studied in the final year of A Level English Literature, and it was wonderful to bring the learning we’ve undertaken in the classroom to life in one of Liverpool’s iconic theatres! Experiencing a live performance of the play brings an entirely new dimension and understanding to the text’s themes, and our students were lucky enough to meet some of the brilliant actors who brought the play to life. I know that this experience will genuinely cement a deeper understanding of the play ahead of upcoming assessments”.
Join us at our upcoming Open Event to discover more about studying A Level English Literature at HNC. A gallery of images from the trip can be seen below.
New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
