Richard Davies is highly impressed by Teddington Theatre Company’s production of A View from the Bridge, but hasn’t changed his opinion of the play itself
A View from the Bridge tells the tragic story of Eddy Carbone, a longshoreman in 1950s New York who brings about his own downfall because of his misplaced love for his beautiful young niece, Catherine. It is a passionate tale that reaches the heart of the American dream.
Walking into the wonderful Hampton Hill Theatre to view Teddington Theatre Club’s amateur production of this Arthur Miller classic, I was delighted to see so many young people in the audience. This is usually a sure sign that the play is a set text on this year’s literature syllabus, which indeed turns out to be the case. The director, Dane Hardie, even references in the programme notes his own introduction to Miller as a fifteen year old GCSE student (for me, it was an A-level text).
It’s easy to see why the play is such a perennial favourite with examiners. Firstly, it’s short: less than two hours long including the interval and only two acts. Secondly, it’s got lots of dramatic “stuff” to get your teeth into and score exam points. There’s the clever device of having a narrator and all the references to Greek tragedy. There’s historical context, with the real life parallel of Miller having refused to “name names” of suspected communists to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee - betrayal and reputation both being powerful themes of the play, along with the highly contemporary themes of incest, gender, sexuality and culture.
It’s also filled with powerful symbolism, such as the famous scene when Eddie’s Sicilian cousin Marco, an illegal immigrant desperate to earn money for his starving family in Italy, lifts a chair by its leg over Eddie’s head with one hand to demonstrate his dominance. Finally, it is easy to understand – written in colloquial language about ordinary working lives; much of the drama wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of EastEnders and that’s not meant as a criticism.
So is it any good? The answer is “yes, but…” Yes, this is an excellent production and Dane Hardie is to be congratulated for his accomplished direction. The acting is very good indeed, with Daniel Wain totally convincing as Eddie Carbone - scowling, ranting, raving, and with a face like an American pit bull chewing on a hornet. Paul Furlong was similarly excellent as the proud and passionate Marco. I was also very impressed with the young lovers, Matt Nicholas who played Rodolpho and Rosy Addison-Dunne as Catherine. Even the accents, often a pitfall of amateur productions, were more than acceptable, at least to my ear – not only the Brooklyn drawl but also the sing-song Italian of the Sicilian “submarines”. Hats off too to Lizzie Lattimore and Jenna Powell for their ambitious set design.
But the “but” is quite a big one and that is the play itself. I’m sorry Mr Miller, but this was not your finest work; a B+ at best. For all its layers of structure and meaning, A View from the Bridge is very clunky at times and the characters are often painfully two dimensional. The problem of Greek drama is that it can feel like a ritual enactment with little real emotional involvement. Miller’s attempt to elevate Carbone as a working class tragic hero comes across as condescending and off key. It’s hard to see any nobility in Carbone’s aspirations; by today’s standards he is simply too much of a Neanderthal. Do audiences still feel any sympathy for him, I wonder – in fact, did they ever?
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