A touring production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge will include ten local actors alongside the main cast.
The Touring Consortium Theatre Company, who are staging the play, are using different actors from the local community at each of the venues including Nottingham’s Theatre Royal.
Tom Farthing, an actor in the play from Derby said: “I first heard about the opportunity through theatrecloud which is a great website for getting involved in productions like this.”
He said that he was encouraged by Neale Birche, the associate producer for the Touring Consortium Company who also runs the Derby Academy of Acting.”
A sense of community
Sheila Sly, another member of the cast from the local area, also got involved with the production through Neil.
She said: “When I heard there was a chance to be involved with the production I jumped at the chance.”
Both Tom and Sheila are in the ensemble cast which is made up of a total of eight people who give the play “a sense of life” round the main cast and create a sense of community.
The play is set in the dangerous and mysterious world of New York’s Brooklyn harbour in the 1950s and focuses on the tight knit Italian community, in particular respected longshoreman Eddie Carbone (Guy Lewis) and his wife and niece.
Video: The rehearsal trailer for a View from the Bridge
When Eddie and his wife welcome two cousins into the family home the balance of Eddie’s family relationships are rocked.
The main cast include Jonathan Guy Lewis ( Our Boys, Silent Witness, Heartbeat), Michael Brandon (Dempsey, Jerry Springer the Opera) and Teresa Banham (Poirot, Waking the Dead and Doctor Who).
Tom says: “They’re all fantastic actors – it’s been great watching them tweak and fine-tune their performance.”
“They are a lovely bunch – really approachable and friendly.”
Both Sheila and Tom are big fans of Arthur Miller.
Sheila said: “He has this ability to really get into the heart of humanity and relationships – it’s set as a Greek tragedy but there’s some funny moments in there as well.
A View from the Bridge runs from 4-7 March at the Theatre Royal.
For ticket information click here
Arthur Miller: a dramatic genius
1915 – Born in Harlem, New York
1934 – Enrols at Michigan University to study journalism. Starts working on The Michigan Daily as a reporter and night editor.
1936 – Completes first play No Villain and gains recognition which leads him to consider a career as a playwright.
1949 – Death of a Salseman opens at the Morosco Theatre. It wins the triple crown of the Pulitzer Prize. the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and a Tony.
1956 – Miller leaves his first wife, Mary Slattery and marries Marilyn Monroe. Two act version of A View from the Bridge is first staged.
– The House of Un-American Activities Committee refuse to renew Millers passport and he is summoned before the committee – the Crucible, Miller’s dramatisation of the Salem witch trials of 1692, a clear allegory of McCarthyism, was the main reason for the summons.
1961 – Monroe stars in the Misfits, a film for which Miller supplied the screenplay. They divorce shortly after.
1968 – Miller’s last play of note the Price is performed.
2005 – Miller dies at the age of 89.
