Hall for Cornwall, Truro, Cornwall – until 15 March 2025
Reviewed by Kerry Gilbert
5*****
‘An earnest and enthusiastic portrayal of this classic thriller’
An Inspector Calls returns to the Hall for Cornwall this week to an excited audience. I’ve never read the book, seen the film or any other productions, so I jumped at the chance to witness this earnest and enthusiastic portrayal of this classic thriller.
It is a play which is set in the dining room of the Birlings, an affluent family living within the fictional and industrial city of Brumley, in the north of England. The play is set in 1912, just two years before the First World War. Inspector Goole is the stranger who visits the affluent Birling family and confronts them with their complicity in the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith. Inspector Goole arrives just as the Birlings are celebrating Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft’s engagement. While the Inspector informs that a young woman committed suicide by drinking disinfectant, the family is bewildered as to how they are connected. As the plot progresses, each character begins to realise their connection to Eva, and as the play concludes and the mysterious Inspector departs, an ominous phone call notified them that another police inspector is on his way.
Directed by Stephen Daldry, the key theme for the play is social responsibility. JB Priestley wanted his audience to be responsible for their own behaviour and responsible for the welfare of others. The performance explored ‘class’ between the wealthy land and factory owners and the poor workers. Priestley wanted to highlight that inequality between the classes still existed and that the upper classes looked down upon the working-class.
From the moment the curtain goes up to reveal the rain quite literally falling on a cobbled street in Brumley, the audience are captivated by Ian MacNeil’s ingenious designs. The Birlings grand house stands raised above the street below, and the class commentary is made clear immediately as the Birlings, in all their finery, enjoy their party enclosed in the privacy of their house, while dirty clothed children play in the street below. Melodrama is not held back, plot points are emphasised by dramatic music (which at some points I thought was a bit too loud) and by speeches made direct to the audience.
Tim Treloar’s masterful portrayal of Inspector Goole oozes with confidence and superiority, enlisting the help of the brilliant children, Caleb Munday, Piran Griffin, IIiana Cooper and the ensemble to assist him in giving the Birlings the moral dressing down that they so desperately deserve. Jackie Morrison commands the stage as the indomitable matriarch Sybil Birling, swanning in halfway through the action to try and uphold the family’s honour, but also sensitively captures the grief of a parent devastated by the trust about her not so perfect children.
Jeffrey Harmer’s Arthur Birling reeks of the arrogance and need for acceptance which characterises middle class social climbers, desperate to maintain his image as a prominent and affluent businessman in line for Knighthood. Harmer captures Mr Birlings growing frustration with Inspector Goole’s persistent questioning.
Tom Chapman is brilliant as Gerald Croft; he absolutely nails the upper-class swagger. Eric Birling provides much of the comedy in the first half of the play (there is no interval, though the curtain does fall and rise again to indicate the beginning of the second act) and George Rowlands gives an endearing performance as the Birlings’ slightly alcoholic son.
Leona Allen triumphs as the initially petulant and entitled Sheila Birling, who quite quickly becomes the voice of reason in the play after accepting her own guilt and imploring others to do the same. Allen is most believable as she gives her account of how her own vanity and jealousy contributed to the girl’s downfall, appealing to the audience to understand it from her perspective.
The use of lighting stands out to me as particularly effective, as we are subtly taken from late evening, through to sunrise and back again; all cleverly designed by Rick Fisher. Credit also goes to Mark Douet for the stunning production images which captures the set and characters incredibly well.
This is an exceptional production and one well worthy of all its accolades. It remains as audacious and engaging as when it was first staged, and still effective in communicating the author’s compassionate viewpoint. I would highly recommend going to see it, you will not be disappointed.