"An Inspector Calls".

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Helen Brockley

My Favourite Play

Having been to many theatre productions ranging from musicals to Shakespeare, I found it very difficult to choose a play to write about. However, having seen “An Inspector Calls” a number of times, and studied it for A.S level, the play has become one of my all time favourites. “An Inspector Calls” is a play with more than one main characteristic which caused me to notice all the hidden meanings and morals J.B Priestly wanted to convey.

An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestly was first performed in 1945. The play was set in 1912 before the war and centres around the wealthy Birling family. A visit from the mysterious Inspector Goole proves to be a horrifying experience for the Birling's as they learn that they have all played a part in the suicide of a young girl called Eva Smith. His startling revelations not only shatter the very foundations of their lives, but challenge us all to examine our consciences.

Priestley’s main aim was to encourage people to take responsibility for their actions, not to shift the blame on to others. The moral of `An Inspector Calls' is that no matter what class we are we are all equal and that we must work together. Priestly attempted to convey his attitudes and ideas through the characters in the play. He used the inspector to voice his own opinions. The Birling's are used to show how not to behave. He hoped his play would create the effect of proactive unity amongst the public giving society the chance to look back on what had occurred and learn from this. Although the play is set in the past, its purpose is to look to the future, to create a more positive society.

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It was not just the morals and hidden meanings which made it such a successful production but the actors themselves contributed significantly. I watched “An Inspector Calls” in Stoke-on-Trent at the Regent Theatre and thought the actors all played their role excellently and fitted their characters perfectly. Stephen Dauldry, the director, presented the audience with a fascinating study of guilt and innocence and of prejudice and hypocrisy.  The sharply-defined characters of the members of the Birling’s family and of Gerald Croft, the mysterious and puzzling figure of Inspector Goole and the shadowy figure in the background of Eva Smith never ...

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