J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, a cautionary moral
tale encapsulated in a mystery, is successfully portrayed by accomplished
actors under the fast-paced direction of J. Barry Lewis at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. It is a period piece reminiscent of Downton Abbey or Upstairs, Downstairs, with the “downstairs” staff silently bearing
witness to the conscienceless actions of their “superiors.”
Although written at the end of WW II, the play is set in
1912. As Europe emerged from WW II, J.
B. Priestley saw the irony of calling WW I “a war to end all wars”, and realized
the dangers of relying on the privileged aristocracy to ameliorate the travails
of the masses. This play remains
relevant for today’s audience. No doubt J. B. Priestley would have seen parallels
to the present with a plutocracy now permeating our government.
The entire play takes place on one evening in 1912 at the
home of the wealthy Birling family who are celebrating the engagement of their
daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft, who is the son of one of Birling's competitors
in the mill business. The family patriarch,
Arthur Birling (Rob Donohoe) is particularly pleased by the union as it will
probably be good for future profits. He
is the quintessential capitalist, in his ineffable aristocratic way
pontificating that "a man has to look after himself and his own."
 |
| Rob Donohoe, Jeremy Webb, Charlotte Bydwell, Cliff Burgess, Angie Radosh |
It is all very jovial but that initial scene
takes place behind Dadaesque style suspended windows which convey a sense of
unreality. The “downstairs” help sit
stoically listening while the festivities are underway.
 |
| Elizabeth Dimon, Jeffrey Burton, Sharon Taylor, Rob Donohoe, Cliff Burgess, Jeremy Webb, James Andreassi |
Suddenly an Inspector Goole (James Andreassi) arrives to
question the Birling family about the apparent suicide of a young girl, Eva
Smith. The abstract windows have been
lifted from the scene and the proceedings are now realistic. Goole is arrogant in his demeanor, relentless
in his interrogation, insisting that he question each family member in a
particular order (all part of the mystery).
Andreassi recently finished a successful run in The Little Foxes at Dramaworks where he was one of the greedy businessmen. The two plays are jarringly
similar in their meaning and are set almost in the same time period. Andreassi’s performance is mesmerizing and compelling
as he had an expectant audience waiting for him to turn on the next family
member.
His first victim is Arthur Birling imperiously played by Rob
Donohoe. His character shifts from high
handedness to reluctant admission that he did know the girl, having fired her
two years before as she asked for a small raise. He was also concerned about union
activity. So what’s the crime in that,
he wonders? No, in fact he had an
obligation to fire her to keep his costs under control (and his profits high, of
course). Donohoe gives a shimmering depiction of a
desperate man trying to hold on to his position in society (perhaps a
Knighthood?) and keep himself and his family from defamation.
Next, the Inspector turns his attention to the Birling’s
eldest child Sheila (Charlotte Bydwell), who confesses that she recognized the
photo of Eva as a person who waited on her at a dress shop where Sheila had
felt slighted, complained to the shop owner resulting in Eva being fired (once again). Sheila’s actions are culpable but not
criminal.. Bydwell gives a brilliant performance,
expressing remorse and guilt for her actions, righteous fury at her fiancé when
she learns of his involvement and stunningly becomes the conscience that her
family members lack.
Her fiancé, Gerald (Jeremy Webb) is next on the docket. Here matters escalate as we learn that Eva had
changed her name and ultimately became Gerald’s mistress. At this point the family is collapsing upon
itself. Webb plays the consummate aristocrat
now humiliated in front of his fiancé and her family. He is full of contrition while attempting to
maintain his aristocratic demeanor. An experienced
actor, he makes us feel sympathy and loathing simultaneously.
Enter the matriarch Sybil (Angie Radosh) who is the head
of a women's charity. She had recently rejected
Eva Smith’s plea for charitable help although she knew Smith was pregnant. Smith called herself Mrs. Birling, which
infuriated Sybil even further. Radosh is
the classic condescending grand dame, scoffing at the Inspector, rejecting any fault
of her own or her family members. She is
a consummate actress and when she speaks, the audience is captivated. Her mood swings from arrogance to stricken
conscience to haughty elation when she believes it all a hoax is a master class
in acting.
 |
| Cliff Burgess, Angie Radosh, Charlotte Bydwell |
Finally, attention is paid to the young adult son of the
Birlings, Eric (Cliff Burgess), who is also connected with the young woman, but
it would be a spoiler to reveal more.
Eric is an alcoholic and by the time he is questioned, the moral
culpability of all has been well established.
Burgess is a very versatile actor and portrays the troubled scion of a
wealthy family with the physical skill and emotional clout of a spoiled unprincipled
young man.
Interestingly, most of the characters briefly break the
fourth wall to plead their case directly to the audience. This brings the audience into the play as we
all ultimately have a stake in our own conduct and the outcome of our
actions. We have just witnessed a multitude
of societal misdeeds that unfold every day in thousands of ways.
 |
| Rob Donohoe, James Andreassi, Elizabeth Dimon |
With the finishing of the questioning, the family implodes
upon itself culminating in an explosion, as if a bomb has been dropped on the
house. The mysterious Inspector departs with the admonishment “each of you
helped to kill her.”
Gerald, who went for a walk to cool off and to reconsider
his broken engagement, returns to the shambles of the house, and finds everyone
in utter abasement. But he brings a
theory which seems to exonerate the family, giving them, especially Arthur,
false hope that it was all fabricated (although what they confessed to actually
took place) by this unverified Inspector Goole, for what reasons, unknown.
The content of a phone call at the play's end is like a sledge
hammer dropping. And suddenly, bathed in
stark bright light is Edna (the incomparable Elizabeth Dimon), the head of
housekeeping in a silent but disapproving role, and behind, a handful of
refugee, hungry and poor onlookers, the silent jury. It is an absolutely riveting production,
without intermission, that gathers momentum until the mystifying conclusion.
Priestly is an indirect literary descendant of Charles
Dickens whose focus on social conditions and the bleak prospects for the masses
were endemic to his work -- although,
Dickens was not thought of as a socialist, more as a humanitarian. His works were not political. J.B. Priestly was a socialist, but An Inspector Calls is not a polemic. It merely cries out that no man is an island. We are a society and even our slightest
actions have ramifications. If we are to
reject “the dreamers” we, as a society, bear responsibility.
As the play’s multiple Carbonell Award-winning director
J. Barry Lewis commented “Such plays remain relevant because they portray
everyday people – you and me – often at our worst. While as an audience we are
voyeurs to the story, we may see ourselves in the choices and mistakes that
each of the characters make. An Inspector
Calls explores the capitalistic nature of society, the hypocrisy of the
Victorian and Edwardian eras and examines the role of the individual and their
responsibility to their fellow man.”
In fact the staging endeavors to make the audience feel somewhat
complicit as well. Kirk
Bookman’s lighting design bathes the stage, and sometimes the audience, in an
eerie bright light. That combined with resident
sound designer Marty Mets’ rumbling sound, piercing at times, heightens the
tension and the culpability of all. Tracy Dorman's costumes are stunning, period perfect.
Victor Becker’s imaginative scenic design captures both
the surrealism and the realism of the production. It is one of Maltz Theatre’s most successful
plays of the season. No wonder when we entered the theatre for last night’s
production a sign read “this performance sold out.”
