Theatre Review - A View from the Bridge
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| Dominic West in A View From the Bridge [Johan Persson] |
FOLLOWING a sold-out run in Bath, Lindsay Posner’s enthralling production of Arthur Miller’s classic 1955 drama lands in London. A View from the Bridge explores love and betrayal, the immigrant experience, and codes of honour.
Eddie Carbone (Dominic West) is a successful, well-liked longshoreman who enjoys a comfortable home life in Brooklyn with his wife Beatrice (Kate Fleetwood) and their niece Catherine (Nia Towle).
However, Eddie has become increasingly obsessed with Catherine. Although he’s brought her up like his own daughter, as she blossoms into adulthood something more sinister grips him.
He welcomes Beatrice’s Italian cousins Marco (Pierro Niel-Mee) and Rodolpho (Callum Scott Howells) into his home.
Known as “submarines”, they’ve followed the same route as many Italian immigrants before them. Travelling by ship from Sicily, they are given temporary shore leave, and remain in the US illegally.
The cousins live under the radar of the authorities, grateful for the money they earn working the docks. But when Catherine falls for Rodolpho, Eddie’s barely suppressed desires come simmering to the surface with devastating consequences.
West skilfully portrays Eddie’s transition from amiable father figure to jealous tyrant when he attempts to split up the couple. He claims Rodolpho only wants to marry Catherine to gain American citizenship, and derides his ability to sing, cook and make dresses –“the guy ain’t right”.
All the while, his wife looks on in dismay. Fleetwood’s Brooklyn accent occasionally wobbles, but she perfectly conveys Beatrice’s growing unease as her husband makes a fool of himself.
Peter McKintosh’s tenement set is a simple but effective backdrop. Posner foregrounds Miller’s terrific script and allows the stellar cast to work their magic.
The contemporary resonance of a wealthy country’s treatment of illegal migrants is forcefully brought home.
To August 3