Ken Stott will return to the London stage in 2009 to lead the cast of Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge, which opens at the Duke of York’s theatre in February.
Stott will take the lead role of Eddie Carbone in this new production of Miller’s classic. A headstrong longshoreman raising his wife’s orphaned niece Catherine, Eddie Carbone’s life starts to fall apart when his feelings for Catherine develop from paternal protectiveness to sexual desire. As he struggles to control his emotions he spirals into self-destruction.
Scottish actor Stott, whose recent theatrical credits include God Of Carnage and Heroes, is well known for his film and television performances which include the detective series Rebus and Messiah and the films Shallow Grave and Charlie Wilson’s War. His London stage credits also include a number of productions at the National Theatre and leading the original cast of long-running comedy Art alongside Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney.
Stott is directed by Lindsay Posner, who previously directed him in The Misanthrope at the Young Vic in 1996. More recently Posner has directed Fiddler On The Roof, which played at the Savoy theatre in 2007, and Carousel, which opens at the Savoy in November. An experienced director of American playwrights, Posner has previously directed David Mamet’s A Life In The Theatre and Oleanna, and Sam Shepherd’s Fool For Love in the West End.
A View From The Bridge was last seen on the West End stage in 1995, when Bernard Hill played Carbone opposite Joseph Fiennes. Given its world premiere on Broadway in 1955, it received its West End debut a year later in a production starring Anthony Quayle. This debut was not without controversy, as the Lord Chamberlain had banned the play due to its references to incest, and the piece had to be staged under private club conditions.
The 1987 National Theatre revival of A View From The Bridge starred Michael Gambon in the lead role, and it will be another Gambon production which will be replaced by this new staging. The leading British actor is currently appearing opposite David Bradley, David Walliams and Nick Dunning at the Duke of York’s theatre in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land, which is scheduled to close on 3 January.
A View From The Bridge, which begins previews on 24 January before opening on 5 February, features design by Christopher Oram and lighting by Peter Mumford. Further casting is expected to be announced shortly.
MA