There’s quite a life behind JB Priestley’s AN INSPECTOR CALLS. It’s something like 78 years old now and yet today, on the stage of the New Theatre in Cardiff, we witnessed a play so fresh and filled with drama that it felt all shiny and new – in an Edwardian setting.
There is something incredibly special about this play, it’s pretty much as entertaining as anything you’ll see, but the characters and themes are more relevant than ever, especially in these troubled economic times.
We’d go as far as saying An Inspector Calls is a must-see, not only for the many students who’ll be at the theatre this week, but for everyone who needs a reminder of what life should be all about.
Let me give you the figures. The play was written in 1945 but actually set in 1912. It was first performed in Moscow before moving to Broadway and then to the UK in 1946. Since then it’s been a firm favourite with audiences and schools as it remains on the curriculum.
Director STEPHEN DALDRY first waved his hands over the play in 1992 and took it away from being a period drama into something relevant and contemporary. To this day it holds that central theme
Before we go any further and give you our review, let’s see what the opening night audience thought of this ground-breaking production. As you’ll see, and hear, the theatre was made up of a lot of students who are reading the book as part of their coursework. Unanimously however, they came out with a positive experience.
Children come from the audience as the show begins and make their way to the stage to raise the curtain. What we see is dramatic to say the least. There’s a rain-soaked cobbled street, with a lamppost and old red phone box to the left. Above the floor, standing like a huge dolls house on stilts, is a brightly lit building, clearly belonging to someone of wealth.
The angles take a bit of getting used to. The lamppost and phone box are slightly skew-whiff, but are the perfect metaphor for the world we enter. On reflection, that message is reflection of the world we are living in today, as out of line as any of us can remember.
The set is as much a part of the production as the fine acting from this stellar cast. The gap between the workers and the factory owners is set from the start, with those who keep the factory running going about their business below, while the factory owning, well to do Birling family are firmly ensconced in their home above the stage.
What makes this work so well is that we in the audience are looking in on the Birlings, watching the family from the outside as they enjoy their opulent surroundings in their brightly-lit dining room. All the while life for the workers continues below on the dark streets.
We enter the story as the Birling’s are celebrating the engagement of their daughter, Sheila (EVLYNE OYEDOKUN) to Gerald Croft (SIMON COTTON), the son of another well to do industrialist family. You sense this union is as much a business deal, bringing two successful families together, rather than a marriage of love. As we look in on the family, smugly looking down on the world as they enjoy the trappings of their success, proceedings are interrupted by the unexpected visit of Inspector Goole (LIAM BRENNAN).
The way the set is constructed cleverly keep those below, and us, the ‘ordinary’ people if you like, out of this other world. In fact we can’t quite see into the drawing room as the opening is all done behind closed doors, with our only view through the windows.
This doesn’t last as the Birling’s world is set tyo change, as the walls of the house open as Inspector Goole arrives to investigate the suicide of Eva Smith, who worked at the factory some two years ago. At first the family can’t see how this has anything to do with them, but as our mysterious Detective gets to work, and lays out Eva’s life, it becomes clear that someone had a hand in her suspicious death.
You may be able to sense my hesitation in giving too much away. While many of us may have seen the play, read the book, or even watched the classic 1954 movie, I still think going into a theatre with little knowledge is a good thing, especially with a story filled with so many mysterious characters, including our good Detective.
Nothing much has changed from the original 1992 production which Stephen directed, and has done ever since. The cast come and go but the look and feel is very much how it was back then.
It can be really unsettling at times with lighting by RICK FISHER which is filled with smoke and menace. IAN MACNEIL has created something visually stunning on stage with his weird angled cobbled street and rich opulence of the Birling’s house. The music by STEPHEN WARBECK also adds to this dramatic atmosphere.
But the performances are at the heart of this powerful play, filled with morality. Liam is excellent as our mysterious Detective, and easy to see why he’s played this role for as many years as he has. As the play progresses we find out more about this man of mystery. His final monologue is expertly, and emotionally delivered.
JEFFREY HARMER and CHRISTINE KAVANAGH are the perfect Mr & Mrs of the Birling household, with an arrogant disregard for anyone below their station. They are emotionally charged in these roles and both give excellent performances.
Then there’s the spoilt and incredibly brattish grown-up children Eric (GEORGE ROWLANDS) and Sheila, who go on a journey themselves to become kinder and more thoughtful to those around them. There’s also Sheila’s new fiancé Gerald Croft. We spoke to Simon Cotton who plays Gerald prior to the company getting into town, you can watch that interview in our original feature HERE.
As a GCSE syllabus text, the play is hugely popular amongst school groups, so expect to see lots of students in the theatre at various performances. The general concensus is that they love the production and particularly the debate around the relevance of the story today and how it links the past with our present and future. You can download the school pack below.
An Inspector Calls is unashamedly political and Stephen Daldry keeps JB Priestley’s message at the forefront of this production. In a world torn apart by greed, political turmoil and as Priestley himself said – ‘Progress is not always inevitable.’
The story may take a swipe at the Edwardian society but nevertheless remains very much a play for today. It’s about empathy and rights of those less fortunate, and actively promotes a community filled with people who are more kind and humane.
When Priestley wrote the story the UK was in a strange place; food was in short supply and expensive. Damage had been done to our infrastructure affecting power supplies, and politically the country was in a state of turmoil. Does that all sound familiar to you?
This is a theatrical experience that will leave you thinking and talking long after you leave the auditorium. Having said all of that, it’s a damn good nights entertainment with a real whodunit to keep you guessing to the end.
AN INSPECTOR CALLS is around 1 hour 50 minutes and doesn’t have an interval. It works brilliantly like this and really holds you in for the whole time. It runs through to Saturday 22nd October. Shows are at 7:30pm with 2:30pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. For more details, and tickets, go HERE.
Just be aware that some performances are sold out, or getting close to capacity, so get in quick. The are special effects too: the production includes stage smoke, pyrotechnics (one of which is loud), rain and mist.
