It’s been some time since we’ve seen Miller’s tragedy unfold on a Sydney stage – since Iain Sinclair’s spare staging at the Old Fitzroy in 2017 (revived in 2019). Then again, familiarity with this work does nothing to blunt its impact. This New Theatre production does a commendable job with this timeless classic – one that (thanks to ICE raids on migrants in the United States and the rise of anti-migrant sentiment more generally) collapses the distance between the past and the present.

Narrated as a flashback by the local lawyer, Alfieri (Elena Pavli), and set in the close-knit Italian-American community of Brooklyn’s Red Hook in the 1950s, A View from the Bridge centres on longshoreman Eddie Carbone, who lives with his wife, Beatrice, and their orphaned niece, Catherine, whom he has raised as a daughter and watches like a hawk.

Alex Bryant-Smith (right) and ensemble in New Theatre’s A View from the Bridge. Photo © Bob Seary

Disruption arrives in the form of Beatrice’s two undocumented Sicilian cousins, Marco and Rodolpho, seeking work and a better life in America. As Catherine falls in love with the charismatic Rodolpho, Eddie’s growing jealousy and possessiveness ignite a chain of events that expose tensions around family loyalty, masculinity and honour, driving the play towards its inexorable tragic conclusion.

From the outset, the production – co-directed by Lou Fischer and Luke Visentin – feels secure and confident. The original Broadway production was played straight through without an interval. This version includes a break (and even a choreographic interlude in the second act, danced by three members of the non-core acting ensemble), but neither interrupts the momentum of the unfolding drama.

The five central roles are very well played. Alex Bryant-Smith gives his best performance to date as the hulking Eddie, a big man with big, fatally misdirected feelings for Georgia Da Silva’s exceptionally well-played Catherine. Megan Elizabeth Kennedy is likewise excellent as Eddie’s neglected and watchful wife, Beatrice.

Jonathon Nicola (Marco) and Finn Couzner (Rodolpho) contribute strongly, though Couzner perhaps overstates what Eddie perceives as Rodolpho’s unmanly flamboyance in the first act.

Finn Couzner and Georgia Da Silva in New Theatre’s A View from the Bridge. Photo © Bob Seary

The production skews epic. Tom Bannerman’s set, made up of mobile units wheeled into position by the cast, evokes a semi-industrial landscape and maintains constant visual interest. Lighting designer Victor Kalka leans into the warm hues of incandescent lamps. Projected visuals from the 1950s (Verica Nikolic) work well. The accents are convincing (Nick Curnow is dialect coach), and the costuming (Raynor McKay) is serviceable.

“Justice” is a word that echoes throughout the play, and justice is what this New Theatre production has done to Miller’s script. It’s well worth catching.

A View from the Bridge plays at New Theatre, King St. Newtown until 5 September.