Laura Anderson
On the 12th of November, the award-winning theatre production of “An Inspector Calls” came to the Theatre Royal in Newcastle Upon-Tyne! Directed by Stephen Daldry, this performance is “hailed as the theatrical event of its generation” according to the Theatre Royal’s website.
Students of the school went along to the theatre to witness the production - as they will be writing about the play in their exams next year. Whereas I went for my own entertainment, and to see if the play really lives up to its reviews online!
Before I went to see the show, I did some research on the director himself. Stephen Daldry is an English Director, he has produced movies such as the 2000 film Billy Elliot. Over the years he has won several awards: 3 Olivier Awards in the West End and 3 Tony Awards on Broadway!
The first time his production of “An Inspector Calls” hit the stage was in 1992. This remarkable production had an iconic scene where a house on stilts appeared, tipped over and shattered over the stage. Since then, the play has toured the country in several West End theatres, and has even gone on an international tour across Australia and the USA! This production is the longest running revival of “An Inspector Calls” in history, and has been seen by around 5 million theatregoers worldwide!
With all the hype surrounding this performance, I was looking forward to a spectacular show! And a good show it was! One of the first things I noticed was the screens providing captions at the side of the theatre; this allowed those who were deaf and hard of hearing to enjoy the show.
For the majority of the show, the performance stayed true to the original play written by J.B Priestley - though a few lines were added to adapt to the Scottish Inspector. In addition to this, Edna the maid was present the whole time as well as a young boy who often interacted with the actors whilst they were not in the spotlight.
I was delighted to see the iconic house on stilts as the curtains were drawn. Whilst it was peculiar to see the actors come through a comically small door, when the house opened up to reveal the infamous dining room I was in awe. After the Inspector gave his memorable speech to the audience, the house tilted over and the insides of the house tumbled out onto the stage - leaving a mess of shattered plates and glasses.
Overall, the show was enjoyable. I enjoyed small details like the placing of a red carpet for Mrs Birling to walk out on, and the moment when Sheila ran off stage as the curtains closed indicating that she had changed. Not to mention the atmosphere created by the rain, mist and sparks, that were described as “references to film noir” on the Theatre Royal’s website, were a nice touch.
I suggest the next time Stephen Daldry’s production of “An Inspector Calls” comes to Newcastle, you go give it a watch!
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