An Inspector Calls Review

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To start this review, I’m going to take you back to the year 2000, where I and my classmates studied “An Inspector Calls” for our GCSEs. We would all read from the book, taking it in turns to voice the different characters throughout the play. Having studied many popular books/plays throughout my time at school, this was one of my favourites.

The message it conveys around social equality and looking out for one another never ages and it clearly resonated with the whole audience. It was way ahead of its time when it was first written and is still unbelievably relevant to this day, considering the current economic crisis and the war between the Ukraine & Russia.

Written by JB Priestley, An Inspector Calls is the National Theatre’s landmark production, and it’s made a return to the Regent Theatre in Hanley. It’s a production that’s built around the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith.

In the play, the wealthy Birling family are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole (Liam Brennan). He arrives just as they are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling (Evlyne Oyedokun) to Gerald Croft (Simon Cotton). The Inspector reveals that the girl has taken her own life by drinking disinfectant. The family are horrified but can’t understand why the Inspector has called to question them. What follows is a tense and uncomfortable investigation by a seemingly all-knowing Inspector, stripping the family of their delusions and revealing their collective culpability in the destruction of this young girl’s life. And just like the Birlings, we are also in the dock.

The cast are superb and the set is extremely creative. It’s bold and visually stunning compared to the last time I went to see it. At first I thought it was all quite strange, but as the show went on, the set only added to the shows essence. It was nice to see a more creative backdrop.

I do feel that microphones for the cast would have been beneficial as sometimes it was hard to follow at some points.

When the end arrives, you’ll have far more questions than answers and the beauty of this cleverly written classic, is that the ending will vary from person to person due to the fact that you’re forced to come to your own conclusions based on your understanding of the tale, and to a large degree, your own life experiences too.

It’s an absolute classic that has proudly maintained its core values for many years, and it’s message will continue to resonate with many more generations to come.

My Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Inspector Calls is playing at the Regent Theatre NOW up until and including Saturday 8th October. Tickets are on sale and are available from the Box Office, by calling 0844 871 7649 or visiting www.atgtickets.com/stoke