16 February – 16 March
It is now nearly three quarters of a century since the inky fingers of the Lord Chamberlain attempted to protect our too easily perverted sensibilities by refusing a licence to A View From The Bridge on the grounds that we might be corrupted by references to homosexuality. But whilst some things happily change, others, particularly those that are rooted in human nature, do not.
American law is based upon the British legal code. Whilst English law from around the time of the Anglo Saxons has taken the duties of retribution away from the individual and the vicious circle of ‘natural justice’ that always follows, and taken it upon itself the exercise of justice, human nature is not so easily assuaged. The law of America is bloodless, unlike the traditional value system of Italy, steeped in the notions of honour that still blight communities across the world. Miller’s play examines the nexus of the old and the new worlds where honour and blood debt meet reason and evidence. In other terms it is where law ends and something atavistic takes over.
This production, directed by Lindsay Posner, whilst set firmly in its own period, is pulsating with contemporary life. ‘Culture clash’ we all understand too well and its consequences are being played out daily on our streets and in our homes. Here we see its working out in a nouveau American family trying to adapt and make the most of what an unequal yet affluent society has to offer.
Dominic West as Eddie gives us a recognizable man, one we could find today; complicated, troubled and confused by his own emotions, which spill onto the stage with rare clarity. Accused by his wife Beatrice (Kate Fleetwood) of infantilizing his niece, Catherine (Nia Towle) his inability to come to terms with his own feelings about Catherine’s flowering womanhood erupts into explosive, gut wrenching anger.
West has something heroic about him, something which seems bigger than those around him and yet is ill-fitting and awkward in the presence of the law as embodied in the solicitor/narrator, Alfieri (Martin Marquez). In some sense Alfieri is giving us the view from the bridge, the vantage point of America looking down on itself as the tragedy is played out amongst its immigrant communities. He is the voice of reason, the voice of the new world.
Lindsay Posner directs with a sensitive antennae to the fluctuating tensions that drag the tragedy to its inevitable conclusion. There are no dull moments, no superfluous dialogue and no weak performances – in short this revival is an unadulterated success.
★★★★★ Graham Wyles 27 February 2024
Photo credit: Johan Persson
Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or online at theatreroyal.org.uk
