Sunday 1 March 2009

A View from the Bridge **** TNT

Friday 27 February 2009
Over half a century since its Broadway premiere, Arthur Miller’s hard-hitting drama proves its staying power in Lindsay Posner’s engrossing revival. Like the central character in the contemporary On the Waterfront currently playing nearby, hardworking Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone finds himself torn between conflicting allegiances.He owes his loyalty to his wife and the illegal immigrant cousins who lodge with them, but he can neither acknowledge nor deal with the feelings he has for his niece, Catherine.
Married Marco (who only intends to stay long enough to make money for his family back in Sicily) isn’t a problem, but, with his light-hearted, jokey manner and blonde hair, his younger brother Rodolpho just “ain’t right” in Eddie’s eyes – especially when he shows more than a passing – and reciprocated - interest in Catherine, who could be his passport to a new life in the US.
Ken Stott’s superbly troubled and powerful performance simmers with uncontrollable emotion, ratcheting the tension as his jealousy takes over. He’s well matched by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as his sad, hurt wife Beatrice, the unheeded voice of reason and all too aware that her husband’s concern for her dead sister’s child has gone way past the merely protective.
A timeless tragedy not to be missed.

Duke of York’s, St Martin’s Lane, WC2 (0870 060 6623) to May 16. £21- £50.50

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