A View From The Bridge, Arthur Miller’s compelling story of a man torn between a repressed lust for his niece and loyalty to his close knit Italian community feels incredibly relevant to the current times. Directed by Joe Emery, this production does not shy away from the worrying political questions around immigration and border control in the world today, and indeed with a slightly updated setting places the frightening reality of the fearsome (and deadly) ICE immigration force slap bang in the middle of the stage.
Nonetheless, in this production the challenges of illegal immigration status prove to be only one thematic strand of many explored in this layered story. Mark Maguire as Eddie offered a powerhouse performance in which he pulled apart the conflicts within marriage, family and masculinity with gusto. His central dilemma is the dynamic thrust which pushes the story forward and he manages to ride the intense emotional rollercoaster with conviction. His paternal love for his ward, his niece Catherine (played with youthful innocence by a poised and elegant Meg Reynolds), is contrasted with his hidden desire for her, a desire which gradually comes bubbling to the surface as he feels her slipping away from him when a romance blossoms between her and the immigrant cousin they're housing, Rodolpho.
Trapped between his attraction to Catherine and his cautious requirement to be a good guest, Kieran Welsh as Rodolpho moved superbly between his playful, extroverted and charismatic persona, and the muted version of himself demanded by his circumstance. He was full of smiles and humour, making it clear why Catherine would be so drawn to him. Yet at the same time this exuberance and his bevy of feminine pastimes, from singing to dress making, offered up sufficient provocation to Eddie to make his rage plausible, rather than just an obvious projection of his own incestuous desire.
The role of long-suffering wife Beatrice was played with calmness and grace by Aruna Clinch, offering sympathy, patience and maternal warmth in a household that you felt would otherwise rip apart at the seams.
The whole family drama is watched over by the lawyer Alfieri, played with affable understatement by Chris Robby. Alfieri, as Emery's programme notes point out, is a Greek chorus figure standing on the sidelines watching the action and commenting on it with very little influence on the drama. Interestingly, however, it’s his role which ultimately gives the piece its tragic depth as he reminds the audience how desperately inevitable Eddie‘s ultimate downfall will be. Given this set of characters, this context and this forbidden desire, there is really no other outcome possible. His doom is written, fated, and no amount of good advice can avert it.
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