St Mary's Calne
It isn’t every day that you get the chance to see Stephen Daldry’s multi-award-winning National Theatre production of J B Priestley’s classic thriller, An Inspector Calls. On Tuesday 1st November, the entire Fifth Form were excited to be out for the evening to attend this production of the text that we have been studying. It was rather a long drive through the pouring rain, but on arrival we ran into the Mayflower Theatre. The auditorium was packed, with an audience eager for the show to start. I was curious to see how the lines we had studied would come to life in this adaptation.
The set was captivating, depicting a dimly lit city street and the most amazing prop house from which the actors appeared. I loved how the house seemed to open up more and more as the characters revealed their inner selves and ways. If you are unfamiliar with the plot of An Inspector Calls, it is a play set in Edwardian Britain, revolving around the apparent suicide of a young woman called Eva Smith. In the play, the unsuspecting Birling family, who seemingly have no connection to the deceased, are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole in connection with her death. The play centres around the individual cross-questioning of the family members.
Is was particularly interesting to see the choice of actors for each of the characters and how the character's were portrayed. During our analysis of the play, we all had created an image of how each of the characters looked and sounded in our heads, so to see that brought to life on stage was really exciting. There seemed to be collective views and opinions amongst our group as to the portrayal of the characters, but the one that resonated most was the actor who played Inspector Goole, who lived up to the image I had of him as a slightly condescending yet physically imposing character. The production managed to poignantly convey the play’s themes of class and status through the use of lighting and presence onstage. The use of lighting was particularly effective and cleverly singled out the guilty parties and where they stood on the stage.
Whilst I usually enjoy an interval to mull over the first half of a play, this was a short performance that ran from start to finish without a break and so by 10pm we were on our way back to Calne. Overall, it was a fantastic play and we were so fortunate to be able to watch it!
Sophia, LV (Year 10)