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Arthur Miller wrote A View from the Bridge as a play. He wanted it to be performed on a stage by actors. The director of any play has a lot of important decisions to make with regard to setting and acting. Some directors decide to stay faithful to the writer’s original descriptions of what the stage should look like and how the actors should play their parts. Others might decide to ignore all of the instructions and stage the play in their own, original, way.

The script of a play is a bit like a recipe. You can assemble all the ingredients together and follow the instructions carefully, but the finished dish will be slightly different for everybody. In addition, people like to add their own little twists and extra ingredients to make the dish their own. In the same way, different directors add or take away various elements to present their version of the play. These elements can include the costumes worn, the way the lighting is handled and the use of scenery and props (furniture and objects).

The dramatisation of A View from the Bridge will be discussed under the two following headings:

• stage setting
• casting