MANCHESTER’S Royal Exchange has successfully revived Arthur Miller’s 1950’s tragedy, A View from the Bridge with Sarah Frankcom at the helm.

Its timely theme is immigration. Appropriately, members of the theatre’s Worldwide Workshop, originally designed for refugees and asylum seekers, take part.

So, Abas Eljanabi and Mohamad Aljarrah can place the experience of modern immigrants into the context of Sicilian illegals in America.

Nitzan Sharron as the tough, hard working Marco and Ronan Raftery as the lady-killing Rodolpho show how hard Brooklyn life is for unwanted newcomers joining an established family.

The family is that of longshore man Eddie Carbone, a legal immigrant, whose niece Catherine, whom he has brought up, falls for handsomely blond Rodolpho.

Leila Mimmack plays her convincingly as naïve and unaware of her sexuality.

Making his Royal Exchange debut, Con O’Neill takes on the pivotal role of Eddie.

He reveals thunder clouds of pent up feelings as he refuses to admit his desire for the niece who is so different from his down-trodden wife, Beatrice (Anna Francolini whose performance in the final scene is unforgettable) O’Neill generates both sympathy and hate as he struggles with unwholesome thoughts.

This sorry tale of betrayal, vulnerability and passion is told by Ian Redford’s Alfieri whose advice Eddie ignores to his peril.

They don’t employ Kate Waters as fight director for nothing!

See it if only for the stormy second act.

* Until June 25.