How successfully does Daldrey interpret Priestley's text 'An Inspector Calls' for the audience?

How successfully does Daldrey interpret Priestley’s text ‘An Inspector Calls’ for the audience?

In the opening of the first scene of Stephen Daldrey’s interpretation of ‘An Inspector Calls’ the first thing we initially see is children climbing out of holes in the stage floor and sirens can be heard, with dramatic music playing in the background. The holes are portrayed as air raid shelters and the sirens are typical of the war. Daldrey is trying to build up a picture of World War Two. Then as the curtain rises, we see a bombsite. The stage is dark and we can see smoke rising from the ground making it look gloomy.

Children can be seen playing in the rubble from the bombsite. This shows us that it is the younger generation who are effected by the war, and when it comes down to it, it is the children that will suffer.

The Birling’s house is raised above from the ground. This shows that the Birling’s think of themselves to be above everyone and everything else. They think of themselves to be a different status altogether. The house is all lit up, showing that they are trying to ignore the war around them because they are ignoring the black rule.

Laughing can be heard from inside the house. This clashes in comparison with the gloomy atmosphere outside. The Birling’s come across to be careless. They have an upper class life compared to other people. The Birling’s are all drinking Jin; Mr. Birling can be heard talking above the rest.

When the inspector arrives, he stands near the house. He is stood on the street level. This shows that he represents the poor and the ordinary. He is wearing a mob suit, and carrying a mob case. This could possibly mean that he had been fighting in the war. The focus is deliberately taken off the house when the inspector arrives. We focus on him instead of Birling, showing that what Birling is saying isn’t really relevant to the play. The inspector faces the audience slowly advancing on the house, grabbing our attention.

The inspector gives one of the small children on the street, an orange. This shows that he had been abroad as oranges were not available in the war.

Edna, the Birling’s house maid came and took the inspectors suitcase and leads him to the house. The House then opens out. This tells me that when the inspector comes, he is intruding into their privacy. By the house being open, it could mean that the Birling’s household is no longer kept above the rest but their lives are about to be shared for everybody to hear and see.

Priestly set the scene in similar ways. In act one; we get a brief idea of what the characters are like, and their backgrounds. He describes the setting to be in a fairly large suburban house belonging to prosperous manufacturer so we instantly know that the Birling’s are quite well off. He used words like good and solid to describe the furniture, this could relate to them being well off money wise.

The stage directions say that ‘the lighting should be pink and intimate until the inspector arrives’- This would be effective to the audience. A change of lighting sets the atmosphere. By changing the lighting from soft colours, to being brighter and harder when the inspector comes, this shows that he means business.

The characters are briefly described. Arthur Birling is a portentous character, Sybil, his wife, is more of a cold, stuck up character whereas Sheila is a content and happy person. Eric is quiet, and Gerald Croft is an eligible young man.

In the beginning, the tone of the atmosphere is relaxed. When the Birling’s are first seen on stage, they are seated around a dining table. The maid is clearing the table of champagne glasses, showing that they are celebrating. All five of the characters are dressed in the evening dress of the period. It says that the men are wearing tails and white ties, not dinner jackets. This helps to clarify the date in which the play was set in. We are then told that they are celebrating a special occasion and are pleased with themselves.

Priestley is building up character outlines for when the inspector comes. The Play is set in early 1900’s. We know this as the dialogue gives us little clues. E.g. During one of Birling’s speeches, he mentioned The Titanic. He quoted ‘she sails next week- forty six thousand eight hundred tons- New York in five days- and every luxury- and unsinkable’. This is dramatic irony, as we already know the consequences of The Titanic. It just goes to show that we cannot believe everything that Birling says. Clearly, nothing is as it seems. However, the Birling’s are in denial that the war is going on around them. Daldry interpreted this well by having the Birling’s house all lit up, showing that they are ignoring the black rule.

Birling is lecturing Gerald and Eric, telling them that ‘a man has to mind his own business and look after himself’, just as the inspector arrives. This is effective as we suspect that later in the play; they won’t be thinking that way.

The atmosphere all changes as the door rings. Suddenly we get the impression that they are no longer relaxed as they were suspicious as to why an inspector would call at that late stage.

The Birling’s were told that a girl had committed suicide earlier that day by drinking disinfectant and ...

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The atmosphere all changes as the door rings. Suddenly we get the impression that they are no longer relaxed as they were suspicious as to why an inspector would call at that late stage.

The Birling’s were told that a girl had committed suicide earlier that day by drinking disinfectant and that the inspector wanted to ask them some questions. Each of the Birling’s was questioned in turn.

The inspector showed each of them a photograph of this girl ‘Eva Smith’, separately.

The first person that the inspector showed the photograph to was Mr. Birling. He instantly remembers ‘Eva Smith’ as one of his previous employees. Birling had sacked this young girl more than 18 months ago, so he just assumed to himself that this dismissal had nothing to do with the fact that she had committed suicide. The Inspector contradicted him by telling him that ‘what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide’. By saying this, he is implying that Mr. Birling may in fact play a small part in this girl’s death after all. At this, Mr. Birling began to open up to the inspector. He told him of how he came to sack the girl, Eva Smith, in the first place. She had asked him for a pay rise and protested that she and other girls were not being treated fairly, so he sacked her. Birling didn’t see how this could be linked in connections to her suicide.

The next person to see the photograph was Sheila. She also recognised the girl straight away. Unlike Mr Birling, she felt upset by this. Sheila told the inspector of how she also got the girl turned out of a job as she felt intimidated by the girl’s beauty. Sheila had tried on a dress at ‘Milwards’ and the dress didn’t look half as good on her as it did on Eva Smith. So Shelia complained to the manager that the girl ‘had been very impertinent’ and that if they did not do anything about this, then she would persuade her mother to close her account with them. As a cherished customer, they dismissed the girl.

Sheila felt a terrible guilt for her actions now and instantly felt partially responsible for her death.

In connection to this, the inspector went on to tell them that the girl then changed her name to ‘Daisy Renton’ as a sort of, new identity. Gerald’s reaction to this information was an instant give away that he knew her, as he acted startled. Sheila caught onto this reaction and urged him to tell the inspector of what he knew of her. Gerald suggested that Shelia ‘Ought to be excused any more of this questioning’- This shows that he does not want her present for what he is about to say. It is like he wants to get rid of her, maybe due to a guilty conscious. However, Sheila insisted on staying, even though Gerald was protecting her from anything ‘unpleasant and disturbing’. At this, the inspector said to Gerald ‘And you think that young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things?’- this is irony as a woman has just died of poison; being both unpleasant and disturbing.

It later came out that Gerald had met Daisy Renton/Eva Smith in a local bar. They had got chatting and he took quite a shine to her and so, he kept her as his mistress for a while. He provided her with everything she needed, like clothes, money, and a roof over her head. Eventually, their little love affair had to come to an end though, and the young girl was back on her own again.

Next, Mrs Birling saw the photograph. She denied knowing the girl. At this, the inspector was rather ill mannered and accused her of ‘not telling the truth’. Mr Birling defended her by pointing out to the inspector that his attitude was uncalled for, whereas Sheila, yet again, urged her mother to tell the truth.

It appears that Eva Smith/Daisy Renton had changed her name yet again, this time taking on the title of ‘Mrs. Birling’. She had gone to thee Mrs. Birling’s charitable organisation committee appealing for help, as she was pregnant and on her own. Mrs. Birling turned her away and refused to help her. She believed that her decision was perfectly fair and felt no guilt or responsibility towards her death, as this girl had deliberately taken on their surname.

Mrs. Birling continued to say that she blamed the young man that got her pregnant, and left her with the burden of a child. She said that ‘he ought to be dealt with very severely’, when Sheila interrupted urging her mother to ‘Stop!’

It later turned out that Eric was the father of the child. When the inspector questioned Eric, it appeared that he had gotten her pregnant, and was stealing money from his fathers (Mr. Birling’s) business to help support her. The young girl found out that Eric was stealing money to support her, and refused to take anything more from him. At this, Eric had to leave her on her own with the child.

The Inspector’s final speech is a very important part of the play. When the inspector first arrives, the mood all changes. Right from the beginning of the play, the audience paid special attention to the inspector.

The Birling’s Began to argue about the whole Eva Smith situation; each of them had their own perspective and views on what happened to her. It seemed like they were trying to push the blame onto one another. Just as their shouting began to get out of hand, the inspector showed authority putting them in their place by shouting ‘Stop!’. At this, The Birling’s stopped shouting and turned to look at the inspector. In Daldrey’s version of the play, when the inspector shouted stop, the lighting changed. This could be to show the change in the mood and atmosphere.

He continued ‘And be quiet for a moment and listen to me.’ The inspector is taking charge of the situation. He is telling them to stop arguing and listen to what he has to say. He informed the Birling’s that ‘This girl killed herself- and dies a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.’ He is telling them that they cannot push the blame onto each other, but that it was in fact all of them that drove Eva Smith to killing herself. By telling them to always remember what they have done, he is saying that they should always think twice before looking down on people and treating them with less respect then they deserve.

In Daldrey’s interpretation, the inspector is addressing the audience with this speech. The inspector brings the Birling’s down onto the street level, taking away their superiority. This tells me that he is lecturing not just the Birling’s, but us as well. We can all learn a lesson from what had happened to poor Eva Smith. Despite what the Birling’s have done, we can also learn from their mistakes.

At this, the Birling’s stopped arguing. They then began to think twice about what they were saying and feel more guilt for Eva’s death. They all began to admit to their mistakes and genuinely feel sorry for what they had done.

The inspector then began his final speech… He started off ‘Just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with u, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do.’ At this point in time, the inspector is dictating to the Birling’s. He is in control of their thoughts. He used repetition ‘Millions and millions and millions’, to emphasise the seriousness of what he was saying. By saying that there are millions of John and Eva Smith’s, he is saying that there are millions of chances to help and make a difference in someone’s life. Despite Eva Smith dying, they can learn from that and help people in the future.

He quoted ‘We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This almost shows a Christian attitude towards the situation. As we are members of one body, we should not just think of ourselves. The inspector is saying that our actions will not only affect us but will effect everyone around us too. As we are responsible for each other, we should always look out for one another, regardless of class or race.

He finished up with saying ‘And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish. Good night.’ Then the inspector left. He used strong violent words to put across what he had to say. He began by addressing them on a more serious note by saying ‘and I tell you this’. By using war related words like ‘fire and blood and anguish’ he is reminding them, and us of the war. This relates back to the beginning of Daldrey’s interpretation where the Birling’s were made out to be ignoring the war. He is threatening the Birling’s that this will happen again if they do not change their ways and help each other.

When the inspector said good night and left in Daldrey’s version of the play, we then see the Birling’s house shatter. There is a dramatic build up to this with flashing lights and loud clashing music. This is symbolic to the play. It showed us that the Birling’s lives had shattered and everything that they had worked for (i.e. the house). We see Sheila lift her arms up to the sky like she is praying. The Birling’s were then left out on the street.

After the inspector leaves, The Birling’s discuss the night’s events. They go into a stage of blaming each-other for Eva Smith’s death, pushing the guilt onto one-another. Mr. Birling still does not have his priorities straight as the first thing that initially springs to his mind is that fact that the families reputation will go down the drain if any of the information they gave out will be found out by the public. He claimed that ‘There’ll be a public scandal.’ He was certain that he was going to get a ‘knighthood in the next honours list’. In response to his father’s attitude, Eric is unconcerned about what the public will think, but more concerned about what went on that night.

Mister and Mrs Birling don’t want to admit to themselves that they played any part in the girl’s death, and keep twisting the subject to point the blame back to Eric. Eric informed his parents ‘Well, I don’t blame you. But don’t forget I’m ashamed of you as well- yes both of you.’ He is openly admitting that he has done wrong, but thinks that it is unfair to take all the responsibility for the death of the girl. Here again, his Father was steering the blame away from them by saying ‘There's every excuse for what both your mother and I did- it turned out unfortunately, that’s all’. This is a gutless attitude for them to have considering how they were feeling before the inspector left them. Sheila was quiet up until this.

Sheila is on Eric’s side and openly admitted that she behaved badly, but she then pointed out that they were pretending that nothing much has happened. It is here when Eric reminds his father of what he had told himself and Gerald earlier that evening just before the inspector had arrived- ‘A man has to make his own way, look after himself and mind his own business, and that we weren’t to take any notice of these cranks who tells us that everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together’. Thinking about this, the Birling’s begin to have doubts as to whether the inspector is in fact, an inspector. It seemed too ironic that an inspector would walk in at that moment. Sheila described it as being ‘very queer’. She then quoted ‘it doesn’t much matter now’ how ever mister Birling disagrees as it matters ‘a devil of a lot to him’. He is relieved that there is still hope that his reputation is not at stake, and let off the hook in a way. Mr and Mrs Birling would be willing to forget that anything ever happened that night; whereas Sheila still feels the guilt for the situation.

Slowly, things began to make more sense for them. They suspected that they had been tricked into confessing to the so called inspector. As the family are sussing out their puzzled situation, Gerald Croft returns with some useful news. He informed the Birling’s that, on his way home, he bumped into a police officer and enquired about this ‘Inspector Goole. The police officer had never heard of him, and said that ‘there wasn’t any Inspector Goole or any one like him on the force’. Birling clarified this by ringing the police station and getting a second opinion. Much to their delight, Inspector Goole was in fact, a fraud after all.

While Gerald and Mr and Mrs Birling laugh at what they perceive to be a big hoax, Sheila and Eric do not join in with the celebration. They are still taking into consideration the seriousness of their actions.

The last twist to the plot is when the phone rings, and Mr Birling answers only to hear the drastic news that an inspector is about to arrive to investigate a girls suicide.

In Daldrey’s interpretation of this, when the inspector leaves and the Birling’s find that the whole thing was a hoax, Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald go back into the house as if nothing had happened. They are laughing and joking whilst they do so. However, Sheila and Eric choose not to go back inside the house- they stay on the ground.

Here, the house is symbolic- when the Birling's first came to realise what they had done, they were brought down to street level as they no longer felt that they were superior to everyone else. By showing them going back up to the house, this shows the audience that they are denying the importance of what was said that night and going back to normality once more. Daldrey’s interpretation leaves Sheila and Eric on the street as they are choosing not to forget, and they do realise the seriousness of the night’s events. Sheila can’t get over the fact that they may have caused a young woman to kill herself, and so, refuses to carry on as normal and go back inside the house for a drink. She said ‘But you’re forgetting one thing I still can’t forget. Everything we said had happened really had happened. If it didn’t end tragically then, that’s lucky for us. But it might have done.’ She is telling them that she still feels guilty for what she did, despite the fact that the woman didn’t actually die. It makes no difference to Sheila.

Mister Birling shows no remorse to what Sheila has said. He points at Sheila and Eric and imitates the inspector on his final speech saying ‘You all helped to kill her’. Birling is making a mockery of the whole thing. Despite the fact that he is scaring Sheila with his smug attitude, he persists to make a joke of it telling her that she will have a good laugh over it yet. Apart from Sheila and Eric, the rest are pretending that everything is as it was before.

In Daldrey’s interpretation, Sheila is not just addressing her family but she is directing this speech at the audience as well, just as the inspector did; showing that we can all learn something from this. She continued to talk about the inspector and how he made her feel. She described her feelings as ‘Fire and blood and anguish’- these are strong war related words, and her feelings are emphasized by using three words together to describe the way she feels. She told her family that the way they talk frightens her, Eric agrees with her.

At the end of the play, the phone rings, and Mr Birling receives the news that a girl had died after swallowing disinfectant, and a police inspector is on his way round to ask them some questions. It is here that they feel the guilt of what happened that night. We are put in the position of being back at the beginning of the play again.

-Daldrey interpreted this scene dramatically. A man came to the Birling’s baring news that the girl had died. At this moment, Sheila and Eric are still on the street and the rest of them are in the house. When they hear the news, The Birling’s house swings open; Dramatic music is playing to emphasize the mood and a cloud of mist appears adding to the atmosphere. This relates back to the beginning of the play once more, when the house opened as the inspector arrived. The house is then destroyed and the curtain falls. When the curtain comes back up, we see a bright blue sky in comparison to the dull sky previously. This could symbolise a new beginning.

Hannah Aspin