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When Inspector Goole arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home, their peaceful dinner party is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman. His startling revelations shake the very foundations of their lives and challenge us all to examine our consciences. More relevant now than ever, this is a must-see for a whole new generation of theatregoers. He thinks that the future is just fine, with ‘increasing prosperity’ ahead. Eric is less certain, but his father dismisses him. This is a tragedy when you consider that Eric (and Gerald) would be the right age to fight in the First World War, when millions died, something Priestley would have known about. Priestley also presents Sybil Birling as someone who does not care how people from the lower classes live. Priestley sees this as part of the problem with the rich in Edwardian times and since there is no government assistance charities need to help. Although Sybil Birling belongs to the Brumley Women’s Charity Organization, she only helps those who she thinks have earned it. So when Eva Smith, who is pregnant, asks for help and calls herself Mrs Birling, Sybil Birling is extremely angry and tells her committee not to assist. This is an example of irony, because Sybil Birling doesn’t know that Eric is the unborn baby’s father. To make things worse, she then tells the Inspector when he is questioning her that the father of the child should be made to pay and be, ‘dealt with very severely’. One night in April 1912, the comfortably upper-middle-class Birling family gather to celebrate the engagement of their daughter, Shelia. In attendance areher fiance Gerald, her younger brother Eric, and her parents,Sybil and the boorish, dominating Arthur. The party is soon interrupted by the appearance of the mysterious Inspector Goole, who has come to enquire upon the recent suicide of Miss Eva Smith, a young working-class woman known to the family.
Priestley’s socialist uprising of a play dramatises the dangers of casual capitalism’s cruelty, complacency and hypocrisy. Over its 105 unbroken minutes, Daldry’s German expressionist interpretation builds a political layer, one whose resonance renews with each era. If there is no Inspector, then there can be no Eva Smith. This allows Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald to sigh with relief, as if the events they have been through didn’t happen, like waking from a nightmare. On this occasion, I was put in mind of Agatha Christie’s classic novel And Then Were None, in which a group of sinners—all of whom have contributed to the deaths of others—are eliminated one by one in an isolated house. J B Priestley may not resort to homicide, but the truths he places within Inspector Goole’s mouth have devastating consequences nonetheless.
JB Priestley’s brilliantly constructed masterpiece powerfully dramatises the dangers of casual capitalism’s cruelty, complacency and hypocrisy. Stephen Daldry’s epic production highlights the play’s enduring relevance. George: “I’m sharing a room with Simon [Cotton] who’s playing Gerald. I don’t know…I think a bottle of water goes a long way. A bottle of water and some Vaseline is not a terrible idea – for the lips, obviously! I get chapped lips.”
Evlyne: “For me, it’s not being able to see your work or the story you’re creating because you’re so involved and living in the moment of it. You don’t really see the end result. I feel that the end result is mainly the response from the audience; if they got the story then we’ve done our job.” I like storytelling and I like the creative and artistic aspect of it. With this production, it has enabled that part of acting, and it’s been a really good creative process.” Evlyne Oyedokun’s Sheila Birling and Simon Cotton’s Gerald Croft in the rehearsal room for An Inspector Calls. Picture: Mark Douet Daldry’s staging of An Inspector Calls has been entertaining audiences for over three decades, and I don’t foresee that ending any time soon. The Mousetrap recently celebrated its 70 th anniversary, and it’s not inconceivable that this production might one day achieve a similar level of longevity. Written at the end of the Second World War and set before the First, An Inspector Calls is a compelling and haunting thriller. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family home. Their peaceful family dinner party is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman.Evlyne Oyedokun’s theatrical credits including Key Workers Cycle at the Almeida, Perspective – New Views at the National Theatre, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Old Vic and The Cherry Orchard at Nottingham Playhouse. We discover in Act I that he also found Eva Smith’s diary in her room, which gives her timeline, and when she is involved with the Birlings and Gerald. It’s been over four years since I last watched Stephen Daldry’s iconic staging of An Inspector Calls, and I continue to find it an enthralling piece of theatre. The fact that this recent performance withstood the ambient noise of several hundred schoolchildren within the creaky confines of York’s Grand Opera House only serves to underline how compelling this production is.
By contrast Sheila Birling objects to her father’s attitude. She does not see employees like Eva Smith as ‘cheap labour’, but emphasises their humanity by referring to them as ‘people’. However, Priestley also makes Sheila a complicated character. Ironically, her unjust complaint at Milwards store leads to Eva Smith losing her job; the last regular job she has. When Sheila recognises her own link in the chain, she is horrified. The Inspector’s words impact on her as she realises that there are wider ideas of justice, since there are ‘millions … of Eva Smiths’ in society and that our lives are all ‘intertwined’. Examiners marking your An Inspector Calls GCSE questions are looking for answers which show an understanding of the social message of the play and the contrast between the affluent lifestyle of the Birling family compared with the lives of the workers of Brumley. You should revise not just the play itself but the life of the author J. B. Priestley – GCSE students who can successfully reference Priestley’s experience growing up in Bradford at the turn of the century and how this relates to the events and characters of the play are more likely to receive top grades. Goole delivers one of theatre's most resonant final speeches: "And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. Good night." Final scenes establish that Goole is not a real policeman, and suggest that he is some form of supernatural messenger. George Rowlands’ theatre credits include Parliament Square at The Unicorn Theatre, The Boy With The Bee Jar at The Hope Theatre and Macbeth with Quarter Too Ensemble.
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The Inspector is Priestley’s mouthpiece. This means he speaks about the need for a fair society with a strong sense of community. When the family talk over what has happened, they begin to question whether their visitor was a real police inspector. Mr Birling makes a phone call to the chief constable, who confirms that there is no Inspector Goole on the force. With a further call to the infirmary confirming that no recent cases of suicide have been reported, the family surmise that the inspector was a fraud and that they have been the victims of a hoax. Gerald and the elder Birlings celebrate in relief, but Eric and Sheila continue to feel guilt. The phone then rings and the police tell them that a young woman has just died in the infirmary in a suspected suicide, and that they are on their way to question the family. The inspector's identity is left unexplained (though a clue is in the name), but it is clear that the family's confessions over the course of the evening have all been true, and that public disgrace will soon befall them. John Plunkett (14 September 2015). "BBC's An Inspector Calls arrests nearly 6 million viewers | Media". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 September 2015. Although the play takes place over a single evening, so real time, Inspector Goole seems to exist outside real time. He appears uninvited at the wealthy Birlings’ house In his possession, Goole has a photograph of the young woman and her diary - implying that she has named her tormentors within. Over the course of the evening, each member of the Birling family comes to realize they have all played a part in her downfall, in turn exploiting her, abandoning her, leading her to social and financial ruin before she finally took her own life. Faced with the maddening guilt and unable to accept the responsibility, we see one devastating night in the life of this entitled family, as they all seek to escape blame, believing their wealth and status will protect them from the consequences.
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