A View from the Bridge, Young Vic, theatre review: 'Unforgettable'
By the end, the audience is shaken by an overwhelming sense of catharsis
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Belgian director Ivo van Hove has taken a drastically non-naturalistic approach to Arthur Miller's 1955 drama, set in Brooklyn's Italian-American neighbourhood, and the stripped-back intensity of focus is emotionally devastating.
Over an unbroken two hours, the story of Eddie Carbone, the longshoreman whose unhealthy obsession with his seventeen year old niece leads to a catastrophic act of betrayal, is played out barefoot on an empty white thrust stage like a timeless tragic rite.
The action is elegiacally underscored from the outset by sections from Faure's Requiem; the claustrophobic atmosphere of foreboding is almost unbearable.
It's said of Eddie that “his eyes were like tunnels” and Mark Strong's superb performance, all seethingly repressed jealousy and dangerous, brooding denial, makes you believe that. The production strikingly heightens the testosterone-charged climate of masculinity under threat. A test of strength with a chair becomes mock-Wagnerian in musical emphasis.
There's a homoerotic feel to the added after-work shower at the start and to Eddie's taunting boxing-bout with his rival, illegal immigrant Rodolpho (Luke Norris). Nicola Walker and Phoebe Fox are excellent as the wife and niece who suffer terribly from the protagonist's desperate refusal to see what is obvious.
By the end, the audience is shaken by an overwhelming sense of catharsis. Unforgettable.
To June 7; 0207 292 2922
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments