A View from the Bridge – a play by Arthur Miller

A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller

A Young Vic Production at the Wyndham’s Theatre until April 11 2015

Mark Strong’s portrayal of longshoreman, Eddie Carbone, in the Young Vic’s revival of Arthur Miller’s 1955 tragedy will be remembered for his sheer depth as an actor. Set amongst Italian immigrants around the docks near Brooklyn, Miller’s play charts the story of Eddie’s inappropriate feelings for his niece, Catherine. Director Ivo van Hove delivers a stark production with one of the most powerful endings seen this year on the London stage.

Van Hove ensures that Miller’s masterful symbolism of Eddie’s torment cuts straight through the production. This is particularly evident during the lifting of the chair scene between Eddie and his wife’s cousin, Marco. Eddie is unable to lift the chair (by holding it with one leg), which appears to demonstrate the imbalance in his life with his obsession over Catherine, whereas Marco, newly arrived from Sicily, achieves a perfect position resembling the Statue of Liberty and therefore his quest for the American Dream; a theme that runs deep in many of Miller’s plays.

But it is Strong’s performance, Brandoesque and as the narrator describes “with eyes like tunnels”, that rules the night. From the opening washing scene to the ensuing crescendo, Strong is a pillar of emotional torment. The play that opens with a shower scene also neatly ends with one but this time all the actors are drenched with tragedy. This is forceful stuff, not easily forgotten.