An Inspector Calls

Synopsis

When Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family investigating the suicide of a poor young local woman his startling revelations shatter the very foundation of their lives. As the Inspector asks insinuating questions it becomes clear that they all bear guilt for the destruction of the woman they have variously exploited for cheap labour, cheap sex and worse - And then the plot thickens. Written at the end of the second World War and set before the first, An Inspector Calls is a brilliantly compelling and haunting thriller.

Our Review:

Karen Bussell - 6 December 2011

OH dear.

I know The National Theatre’s production of JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, directed by Stephen Daldry, has been collecting awards and accolades since its inception in 1992 but I am still not a fan.

I saw this first some eight years ago and I’m afraid it still leaves me cold.

The NT’s take on JB Priestley’s moralistic tale is somewhat self-important and Daldry plays the drama to the full with overblown gestures, screeching violins and right-between-the-eyes symbolism. And for an uninterrupted 110 minutes it was rather too stultifying for me but the masses of GCSE students in the audience seemed to love it.

And therein perhaps lies the secret of its long run. With the classic thriller on the exam syllabus year in, year out, this production has no subtlety so feeds lazy students the symbolism on a spoon and fills auditoriums on school nights with sweet paper-rustling, fidgeting, whooping teens. Damn I sound so fusty.

Wit...

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Latest User Review

Tapper - 29 January 2012:

I too shared your reservations about the production. The set, initially visually stunning, eventually seemed a distraction, along with the booming music, since it was the dialogue that should have really taken centre stage. The acting, it has to be said, was faultless, but the onslaught of symbolism and clever refraction of the action just seemed to smack to me of a bit of an ego somewhere. ...

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