One of Arthur Miller’s most famous plays, A View From The Bridge is the tale of a man in a spiral of self-destruction.
Eddie Carbone is a headstrong longshoreman raising his wife’s orphaned niece, Catherine. When Eddie’s feelings for Catherine develop from paternal protectiveness to sexual desire, his struggle to contain his emotions leads him on a path of self-destruction, transforming him from a respected, honourable man to a virtual stranger shamed and broken by his own actions. Intense and raw, A View From The Bridge explores jealousy, betrayal, suspicion and loss of control.
Eddie Carbone is played by Ken Stott, the acclaimed Scottish actor who has appeared in the London productions of God Of Carnage (Gielgud theatre) and Heroes (Wyndham’s theatre) in recent years. On television he is recognisable from the crime series Rebus and Messiah, while his films include Charlie Wilson’s War and Girl In A Café.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who plays Eddie’s wife Beatrice, is best known in the UK for her film work, which includes The Perfect Storm, The Abyss and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Previous to her appearance in A View From The Bridge, she was seen in the Donmar Warehouse’s Laurence Olivier Award-winning production of Grand Hotel.
Rising performer Hayley Atwell, who plays the Carbones’ niece Catherine in A View From The Bridge, was recently seen at the National Theatre playing the title role in Major Barbara. Her film credits include the 2008 releases The Duchess and Brideshead Revisited.
A View From The Bridge is directed by Lindsay Posner, who previously directed Stott in 1996’s The Misanthrope at the Young Vic. Posner is also the director of recent musicals Fiddler On The Roof and Carousel, and the West End productions of A Life In The Theatre, Oleanna and Fool For Love.
Miller, who also wrote The Crucible, Death Of A Salesman and All My Sons, premiered A View From The Bridge in 1955. It made its West End debut the following year but, due to censorship by the Lord Chamberlain because of references to incest, had to be staged under private theatre club conditions.
A View From The Bridge comes to Richmond theatre as part of a short UK tour following its success in the West End.
For more about A View From The Bridge read the First Night Feature from the show’s run at the Duke of York’s theatre.