A View From The Bridge at Rose Theatre

Not all Arthur Miller plays are classics but it is probably fair to say that are All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), and A View from the Bridge (1955) are, and Wikipedia backs me up on this.

I had seen all but A View From The Bridge so was very pleased when it was announced that it was coming to Rose Theatre, particularly as their production of All My Sons was a triumph.

I picked a seat in my now favoured Circle, A24, which cost £35 with my Senior Citizen Concession. I like the view from Circle and that more than makes up for sitting amongst school children when at a matinee. That said, seat A24 is next to the aisle where a safety rail hinders the view slightly and I will avoid that seat in future (I am writing this now to remind me!).

The story was a fairly simple one, an American-Italian working class couple living with their orphaned niece (aged 17) are joined by two cousins who arrive from a poverty stricken Italy illegally to work on the docks. One of the cousins starts a relationship with the niece to which the over protective uncle is strongly against.

The story is the thread on which so many things hang that are revealed through the discussions between the five family members. Through these we learn more about life working on the docks, immigration into America at that time and the Italian community they belong too. We also learn about their histories and beliefs, for example the families left behind in Italy.

Central to all this is Eddie Carbone, the head of the family. It is his beliefs and passions that drive the story to its predictable conclusion. And we know it is predictable because a lawyer is used as a framing device and her intermittent narration explains that she has seen all this before. She may have done and while the outcome was predictable there were other outcomes that were equally possible.

Jonathan Slinger was perfect as Eddie and that was one of the main reasons the I loved the performance so much. The other cast members were good but this was Eddie's story.

Much of Eddie's character was the macho head of the family stuff but the play added some confusion over his relationship with his niece, he was accused of being jealous of his cousin at one point, and there were hints of homosexuality that were never resolved.

The other star of the show was the staging which made use of the shape and height of the unusual stage. It was a simple staging too with very few changes to the set, just a few chairs being moved around. I  have no idea why the swing is there in what was mostly a living room but it worked. Rose Theatre seems to like swings and so do I.

A View From The Bridge at Rose Theatre gave me everything that I could possibly want from a visit to a theatre, it was that good.