An Inspector Calls  by J B Priestley

Shoreham Players, Shoreham Village Hall, 8-11 November 2006

J B Priestley must have enjoyed a wry smile at what he achieved with his play An Inspector Calls. Like peeling an onion Priestley, a writer noted for his socialist leanings, deftly strips away layer after layer of the rectitude and respectability that society's upper middle class would cloak itself in.

Priestley's instrument in this endeavour is the enigmatic 'Inspector Goole', a mysterious figure of authority who descends unexpected and uninvited on a leisurely dinner party in order to investigate the suicide of a hapless young woman. Though unfortunate, the girl's untimely demise hardly seems a matter with which to bother the local aristocracy. Yet, undaunted, the dogged inspector cajoles and cross-examines the dinner guests in his pursuit of the truth. The grimy underbelly of life in the turn-of-the-century industrial city of Brumley is gradually exposed as, one by one, all members of the well-to-do Birling family are forced to confront the part that each of them has played in the downfall and eventual death of the wretched victim.

The self-satisfied smugness that all of the principals exude from the outset soon turns to acid, corroding family bonds and undermining their position in the social hierarchy. As souls are bared and cracks appear, one guest makes the telling observation: "We are not the same people who sat down here this evening for dinner&ldots;"

The entire cast grew in confidence and composure as the second and final act unfolded. As the inspector, Ken Fowler brought an intriguing and ethereal quality to the role, and his measured and occasionally forceful exchanges with the Birling family provided some of the play's dramatic high spots.

Shoreham Players stalwart Robert Pierson played Arthur Birling with gusto, a pillar of the community but a bombastic and blustering patriarch nonetheless. Belinda Prince produced a compelling performance as his remorse-filled daughter Sheila, whose world begins to crumble as her part in the tragedy becomes evident and her fiancé Gerald (the excellent Matthew Stevens) is revealed as less of a paragon after all&ldots;

As the aloof Sybil Birling, Susie Fenlon cut an imposing Victoria-like figure whose initial determination to remain above such sordid matters starts to dissolve under the inspector's precise interrogation. Full marks also to Steven Fenlon, Susie's son in real life as well as on stage. His edgy contribution as the feckless Eric Birling endowed his character with considerable depth, pathos and credibility. A brilliant set from designer Susan Platts took us back with ease and conviction to the upper-crust gentility of a century ago.   

At the final curtain, a well-deserved floral bouquet for director Sheila Wilson for an extremely watchable and superbly-observed production. A critical bouquet, too, for the entire Shoreham company who excelled on both sides of the footlights.

12 November 2006