‘An Inspector Calls’ Review (BRADFORD, UK)

WHAT: Play (Drama/Thriller)

WHERE: Bradford Alhambra Theatre (map)

WHEN: 7th – 10th Mar, 12; check tour dates for other shows

WHO: West End touring production

WEBSITE: www.bradford-theatres.co.uk; www.aninspectorcalls.com

MY STORY IN A NUTSHELL:

• Like lots of youngsters in the country, I studied An Inspector Calls for GCSE, and so I was very excited to see it. The performance did not disappoint, although it seems to be a love/hate thing – like the marmite in theatre form.
• This West End revival is legendary director Stephen Daldry’s 1992 National Theatre debut. No one expected such success in the beginning.
• The plot revolves around the mysterious Inspector Goole interrogating each member of the wealthy and arrogant Birling family after a working class girl named Eva Smith committed suicide. As the story unfolds we learn that each of them had a part to play in her tragedy, and that ultimately ‘we are responsible for each other.’
• Visually this is an extremely striking production. Daldry daringly moved away from the traditional set, but his visions back then turned out to be as accurate in hindsight. Very well cast, too.
• A powerful and still relevant piece of theatre that cannot be ruined despite the incessant chatter of its largely middle school audience.

MY FULL STORY [edited version first published on digyorkshire.com on 9th March, 12]: Along with a considerable chunk of Britain’s younger demographic, I studied J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls during my GCSE years. It was one of those plays that made a very deep impression on me, partly because of its clear and simple message, partly because I was lucky enough to have been extremely well taught.

To see the play onstage has been on my wish-list ever since those high school days, so you can imagine my excitement when the West End touring production came to Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre.

Judging by comments that I eavesdropped on post-show, it seems like it was one of those performances that you either love or hate. Sort of like marmite in theatre form – I was on the side of the lovers.

'We are responsible for each other.' Photo by Robert Day.

When the legendary director Stephen Daldry decided to make his National Theatre debut in 1992 with a revival of Priestley’s classic thriller, nobody could have predicted how successful it would become. He took considerable risks and made a few daring changes to the staging of the play, but his visions back then turned out to be accurate in hindsight.

An Inspector Calls is a play essentially about how ‘we are responsible for each other’ in society. The Birlings are a wealthy and influential family in town. At the beginning of the play they were celebrating the engagement of the daughter, Sheila, to Gerald Croft, the son of her father’s business rival.

A mysterious police inspector, Inspector Goole, interrupts the dinner party and informs them that a young working class girl named Eva Smith had just committed suicide. As he interrogates each family member in turn, it slowly emerges that each of them has had a part to play in the girl’s ultimate tragedy.

Traditionally, the play is usually set in the dining room of the Birlings’ house, but Daldry decided to zoom it out to encompass a wider setting. When the curtains were raised, a huge blast of smoke engulfed the audience, as though dragging us into their world. Rain fell from the ceiling of the stage and landed on cobbled pavement as children beggars scavenged for food.

The Birlings’ house was raised on stilts at the back of the stage and the family could be seen and heard inside it. As Inspector Goole began his interrogation, however, the front of the house opened up and revealed the secrets beneath its extravagant exterior.

This is one of the most visually striking sets I have ever come across. Photo by Robert Day.

The visual element of the show was striking in a disturbing way, à la Tim Burton, and images of the set haunted me long after the show ended, it worked well and consolidated the context of the play.

The cast, too, was superb. The presence of Inspector Goole (Tom Mannion) was less sinister than I had expected, and he frequently interacted with the children beggars warmly, albeit silently. Still, he was a commanding figure and the whole family evidently buckled under his stern questioning.

Arthur and Sibyl Birling (Geoff Leesley and Karen Archer) made a ridiculously arrogant couple, but I was most impressed with Kelly Hotten as Sheila. At the beginning she was ditzy and spoilt, but like her brother Eric (Henry Gilbert), clearly showed that she has transformed into a much more socially-aware character by the end.

A very powerful piece of theatre with a message that is as relevant today as it ever was. It refuses to be ruined even by the incessant chatter and inappropriate laughter of its largely middle school audience.