York Theatre Royal – until 22 September 2018
Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
5*****
An Inspector Calls, a thriller that has stood it place as one of the most famous play of the thriller genre; came to York Theatre Royal with the National Theatre, one of the most prestigious theatre companies in the whole world. There is a reason why this show is a must-see, with the spectacular staging and acting that is precise and perfect. The play, set in 1912 looks at the class system and the change needed for society to function for the working class.
Inspector Goole played by Liam Brennan, is a dark mysterious figure who brings the bad news of a woman passing to the Birling family on the night of an engagement. Brennan does a good job of creating this character who we don’t know anything about, yet we are enthralled on every word that leaves his mouth. Lianne Harvey stood out for me giving the character of Sheila Birling a satisfying development and depth that we as a society can learn from, very much reflecting Priestly’s themes of the play. The whole cast gave a performance that kept the action alive and made sure that the audience were engaged, they also made sure to bring out the comedy in the play and play with tensions in the play. The acting was very very true to life and with the supernatural themes there was a balance that suited the play.
The stage is something you would expect from such a well named company, no expense was spared, with a house that moved and rain that came down on stage, none of this was necessary, the acting made sure that this show was outstanding, but it made the production better with themes being represented outside of the script. The extravagant stage mirrors the upper class lifestyle of the Birling’s. Costume played an important role especially with Sheila and Sybil Birling, the entrance of the matriarch played by Christine Kavanagh was nothing short of grand, with a dark red dress with pearls, her costume demanded attention alongside her character.
The show did not shy from perfection, the acting lived up to the National Theatre reputation along side the impressive stage. As the play is on the GCSE syllabus there were a lot of young students in the crowd, as I’m sure is the case at most shows, the crowd of students do seem to react to the play a lot more than you would expect. Although I have seen the play before, this production blew my previous experience out of the park. I was entertained throughout and I left with the reminder of injustice.