A View From The Bridge Is An Explosive, Emotional Journey

Miller’s A View From the Bridge explores family life, working class struggles, and illegal immigration. The Touring Consortium Theatre Company portray the story menacingly well, creating tension where needed, and taking the audience with them on an emotionally explosive journey.

Jonathan Guy Lewis plays the pivotal character Eddie Carbone, the proud doting Uncle and hard-working husband who blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, his frustration and persistence ultimately leading to the family’s downfall. The role is incredibly well played, charged with anger and passion the audience are torn between feeling pity or hate for this lost soul on the verge of self-destruction.

With a fixed set there are no scene changes, however props covering 3 settings make for a busy stage. The large company carry the production at a steady pace with the real drama kicking off in the action-packed second half. Michael Brandon plays Alfieri, a Lawyer, and though his role appears surplus to requirements his narration provides a background story and allows the audience to fill in any blanks. 

The tale is a tragic but predictable one. Lacking twists and turns the only excitement comes from the anticipation of violence. Certain Italian-American accents are dodgy at times, but the bleak costume design from Liz Ascroft perfectly captures the poverty and depression of the Red Hook neighbourhood. 

All in all the play makes an enjoyable evening at the theatre, celebrating the centenary of Arthur Miller’s birth. The production runs at Belgrade Theatre, Coventry until Saturday 11 April.