Review of JB Priestley’s classic thriller ‘An Inspector Calls’
Leeds Grand Theatre

It was a slow start to the story as the first scene was within a house, where the characters were not visible. As the characters talked there was activity happening outside the house leaving the audience confused to which part of the stage they should be watching. However, once the house opened up the storyline was much easier to follow and within 20 minutes the audience gets an idea of each character’s personality.

Once the inspector calls we find that each member of this stuck up family plays a part in a young women’s death. As the play continues each person comes forward to confess to the ‘Inspector’ what they did to the “woman in the photograph”. After each shocking discovery the family is torn apart, compromising their social status and one by one losing respect for each other.
With only 6 main characters some may worry it will be short and repetitive. But with so much going on within an hour and 45 minutes there is no chance of the audience becoming bored.

The ‘drunken’ son was portrayed well, though he goes a bit over the top with the drunkenness. Spoilt little rich girl Sheila Birling was very convincingly played, making her change in attitude, as the story goes on, very believable. Gerald Croft was an easily disliked character, that had no resentment to his part in the ‘suicide‘.

The greedy, ambitious father made the audience both scared and interested in what was happening on stage. Comedy was brought into the story by his wife Sybil. From the moment she came on the stage the audience was captivated by her presence whether they were shocked or laughing at what she said. With each character taking centre stage during the reveal of their part in the story, any mistakes made could be easily noticed. Mistakes made were quickly corrected and left the audience laughing rather that disappointed.

The most interesting and passionate character was of course the Inspector himself. He got under the skin of each family member, getting them to confess to things they never would have revealed. His anger towards the family showed as he shouted at them and invaded their personal space, his energy brought life to the stage. He was both cocky and determined, which left the family thinking “Was he a real Inspector?”

To pupils who are reading this for GCSE or people who want a night out at the theatre this is a great play to go and watch. With all the twists to the well presented story the audience never loses interest.

COMING SOON

I am a fan of comedy, and enjoy seeing many comediens LIVE when they come near to where I live. I will be writting reviews on the each LIVE show I see so you can get a feel for what they are like LIVE. The comediens I will be going to see this year are:-

Ricky Gervais - Newcastle City Hall - 20/10/09
Michael McIntyre - Metro Radio Arena - 28/10/09
Al Murray - Leeds Grand Theatre - 1/11/09
Ed Byrne - Leeds Grand Theatre - 6/11/09
Jimmy Carr - Leeds Grand Theatre - 8/11/09
Russel Howard - Metro Radio Arena - 14/12/09

If you find a certain comedien looks like they'd be great LIVE, let me know and I will try to get to see them and review their act.