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Revision as of 10:27, 19 October 2005
An Inspector Calls is a rubbish drama of 1946, by the British dramatist J.B. Priestley. The play is often studied as part of the school syllabus, (but all the kids find it unbeleivably boring) and is still frequently performed. The Royal National Theatre production, directed by Stephen Daldry, is often heralded as the definitive production, paralleling the events of the play with 1945. It has won 19 major awards including the Tony Award for Best Play Revival.
The plot centres on the visit made by a mysterious police inspector to a wealthy and apparently respectable family, for the purposes of enquiring into the death of a poor and unknown girl. The inspector reminds each family member in turn of his or her connection with the girl, leading each of them to suppose that their unintentional cruelty or thoughtlessness has brought about the girl's death. As the play ends we begin to question the reliability of the inspector, resulting in him being branded as a fake. The family calls the police station to find that Inspector Goole is not employed there, and they decide he was a fake. However, the younger ones in the family still hold his socialist message that everybody affects everybody else. Then the telephone rings and they are told that an inspector is arriving to ask some questions. As the curtains close, the true nature of the inspector is called into doubt.
The inspector is often envisaged as a 'guardian' type character delivering a message or motto to the audience. Some also believe that Priestly created the inspector as a ghost, the angel of the girl who committed suicide, showing the family who believe they are all innocent how the smallest actions create a chain reaction and lead events spiralling out of control. On the other hand, there are also people who believe that the Inspector is Sheila's son or grandson from the future, and whose main purpose is to warn the Birlings to realise their social responsibility or face the punishments of World War I which is set 2 years after the events of the play take place.
The 1954 British film version of the play starred Alastair Sim as the Inspector, with Arthur Young, Adam Kennedy, Etou Samuel, A. Staines., Olga Lindo and Bryan Forbes. It was adapted by Desmond Davis and directed by Guy Hamilton.