Theatre Review: An Inspector Calls at Theatre Royal

J B Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls returns once more to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal, directed by Stephen Daldry and with Charlotte Peters helming the Assistant Director role. The plot centres around the wealthy Birling Family – Arthur, the patriarch and successful factory owner/local politician, his wife Sybil, who acts as the matriarch and sits on the local charity committee, and their two children, Eric and Sheila.  

The curtains rise to the Birling family celebrating the engagement of the young daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft, the son of a local business rival of Arthur. The drinks flow and Arthur sees the opportunity to potentially merge his business, Birling and Co, with Crofts Ltd. However, the celebrations are prematurely interrupted by Inspector Goole informing the Birlings of a suicide by a young working class girl, Eva Smith. At first they deny all knowledge of the girl, but the connections are slowly revealed over the course of the play, and soon we see that they all bear guilt for the demise of this young girl… Now, I won’t spoil the play any further if you don’t know it, but I promise you won’t be disappointed if you attend.

The acting sometimes wades into melodrama and loses some of the nuances of Preistley’s text, but given the nature of the play being on GCSE syllabuses across the country, the target audience for this particular production will find plenty to enjoy. Gasps and applause come with every revelation, fight, slap and glass thrown throughout the play - and if tonight’s audience serves as any indication, students will love this show.

The set, designed by Ian MacNeil, at first glance appears like a bombsite adorned with rubbish, with the Birlings' house set on stilts, almost like a contraption from a Tim Burton film. The property is initially closed, but it opens out like a doll’s house to reveal the family, surrounded by a lavish interior. The disparity of wealth is clearly on show with the urchins who stay on stage throughout the performance and overlook the Birlings and their extravagant surroundings. There is a clear separation between the two social classes before we see the house become connected to the street level through a clever use of stairs, and Inspector Goole muddles the lines between the house and the grim street level surroundings.

Needless to say, then, that the set is almost another character all on its own, and has a few surprises up its sleeve for the audience. The design is reinforced by the eerie music (Stephen Warbeck) and sound design (Sebastian Frost) which contributes to the tension effectively, and the production moves at a brisk pace to ensnare the audience. With no interval, you barely feel the 1hr 50 running time - a testament to the quality of acting displayed by the cast. 

The play, written in 1945 but set in 1912, holds a strong mirror up to society today and forces the audience to question their own morality and understanding of the world, raising issues such as the abuse of authority, capitalism and workers’ rights. The strong moral and political ideals are at the front and centre of this play, and it is little wonder why it has been touring for over fifty years, when the message is clear and simple but still relevant. If you are lucky enough to catch the show this time around, please go. You will not be disappointed! If not, I’m sure it won’t be long before the Inspector Calls once more…

An Inspector Calls is showing at the Theatre Royal until Saturday 21 January