The Young Vic production of Arthur Miller’s tragedy makes its way to the West End, bringing intensity and high drama with it, along with some storming performances.
A View From the Bridge tells the story of Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman. He lives with his wife, Beatrice, and his niece, Catherine. When Beatrice’s cousins from Italy come to stay and work illegally, they exploit Eddie’s hospitality, and one pushes his boundaries, especially with Eddie being highly protective over Catherine. We are told, by the narrator in the form of lawyer Mr. Alfieri, from the start that the story will end in tragedy.
“Strong’s performance is colossal”
Presented as one two-hour act, this is one of the most intense productions I have ever seen. The design and lighting by Jan Versweyveld is beautifully minimalistic, with only one door at the back for entrances and exit, and a barrier surrounding the actors that they also sit on at times. There is also seating on stage to emulate the ‘in-the-round’ staging when it was at the Young Vic. Whilst the lights do occasionally change to match the mood, it is very subtle and works wonders. Throughout the piece there is music playing, often very quiet but it is always playing, with an occasional drum beat at moments of high drama. This keeps the piece flowing and the intensity up throughout. One thing that I noticed was the actor were all bare foot, except for a moment where Catherine briefly puts on high heels and at the start with Alfieri addressing the audience. However, Alfieri takes off his shoes before he enters the space, which I thought was a nice touch. Tying it all together is Ivo Van Hove’s wonderful direction. One of the highlights of the piece is where the immigration officer comes (spoilers, but the play has been around for almost 60 years) and instead of the characters running about, we have Alfieri speaking the stage directions aloud. This was the perfect moment for this, if done at any other point in the play it wouldn’t have had nearly as much impact.
The performances here are insanely good. Everyone here deserves their place on the stage, with highlights from Emun Elliott as Marco and Phoebe Fox as Catherine. But the standout here is Mark Strong as Eddie. Strong’s performance is colossal. He brings the raw power to Eddie that is required to feel for this character and by the end you have seen his transition into a monster. I was sat right at the back of the theatre and even from there I was entirely drawn to Strong. He has a hold on the audience that is currently unrivaled in London’s dramatic theatre.
This is only an 8-week strictly limited engagement so grab a ticket whilst you can for this highly acclaimed production. A world class performance from Mark Strong added with the world class direction from Ivo Van Hove make for this world class play.
Photo credits: The Guardian, Love Theatre, Jan Versweyveld
IBU LANGOO 