A Review of A View From The Bridge
A View From The Bridge, a powerful play by Arthur Miller, was staged in the round at the Manchester Royal Exchange. By producing the play in the round, the action could be viewed from all angles which was a more effective way of portraying the story. It also allowed the entire stage to be used without loss of action which allowed the stage to be split into two sections – the street and inside the house. These two portions of the stage were quite obvious, being symbolised by the telephone booth (a key prop later in the play) and the dining room table. That said, other furniture such as Alfieri’s desk, seemed a little unnecessary, especially since it had to be brought in from off stage for each of Alfieri’s scenes. This wasn’t helped by the general lighting in the theatre which could never provide a complete blackout on stage due to the large amounts of windows in the upper seating areas. The stage lighting was fairly simple with neutral ‘general’ lights used for most scenes. This was developed somewhat in important scenes such as Eddie’s death and the lighting was altered (although not significantly) when Alfieri recited his monologues. However sound was used quite effectively in these scenes with the same effect being used to symbolise a change in the setting. Although the play featured very little props, when they were used, they were used to great effect such as the crates being lowered at the beginning or the characters using real food in the dinner scene and then eating it. This also helps instil a sense of realism into the play and helps the audience to relate to the storyline.
