After the exposition follows the entrances. In an Inspector Calls, all the main characters (excluding the Inspector) are already on stage when the curtain lifts. However, the positioning of the characters, the stage layout, lighting and the costumes can still present a lot about their characters. Priestley describes the set in Act One as “the dining-room of a large suburban house”. Such a set gives the sense of a rich, prosperous businessman and provides an idea of the period (1912).
The lighting is, at first, “pink and intimate” which gives a rose-tinted glow, providing the audience with a foreshadowing of the play. However, upon the arrival of the Inspector, the lighting changes so it is “brighter and harder” which reflects the character of the Inspector, and foreshadows the events to come. When the Inspector enters he is shown in by Edna who is likely to have a humble and reserved attitude. In contrast to this the Inspector, who is not necessarily a “big man”, creates an impression of “massiveness, solidity and purposefulness” from the very beginning. To the audience this provides a contrast to the existing characters, and demonstrates his importance in the play.
An obligatory scene follows the exposition of a well-made play in order to provide some plot on which to build a climax. The rest of Act One introduces the plot of the play, with the Inspector informing the other characters of his reasons for visiting. The suspense is also built up as the Inspector begins his interrogation of Mr Birling and Sheila, who form the base of the investigation. During the scene the characters also begin to form disagreements with each other, and the Inspector. “Look – there's nothing mysterious – or scandalous – about this business – at least not as far as I am concerned. It's a perfectly straightforward case, and as it happened more than eighteen months ago – nearly two years ago – obviously is has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl's suicide. Eh, Inspector?” The repetition of ago in the scene emphasises the length of time, and the annoyance of Mr Birling. The scene forms a basis upon which the suspense builds, and the events later on all relate back to.
In a well-made play the obligatory-scene is followed by the climatic curtain. Here the suspense builds and builds to its final level, before the next stage is revealed. In “An Inspector Calls” Act 2 forms the climatic curtain of the play. The Inspector works his way through all the characters, seemingly putting all of them into the frame for the murder of Daisy Renton (Eva Smith). “You'll remember that Mr Croft told us – quite truthfully, I believe – that he hadn't spoken to or seen Eva Smith since last September. But Mrs Birling spoke to and saw her only two weeks ago.” After talking to Mr Birling and Shelia, the Inspector moves through Gerald (Mr Croft) before making more accusations at Mrs Birling. For the audience the Inspector is quite an ironic character as rather than narrowing the suspects down, he builds to the list, until all the family are under suspicion. Towards the middle of Act 3 the Inspector leaves, and the play progresses onto the next-aspect of a well-made play.
The penultimate aspect of a well-made play is a mistaken-identity. To conclude the play, Priestley reveals the depths of the characters, with their reactions to the Inspector's visit. However, the final line of the play reveals the mistaken-identity. “That was the police. A girl has just died – on her way to the Infirmary – after swallowing some disinfectant. And a police inspector is on his way here – to ask some – questions - .” Birling's final line reveals that the original Inspector was not all he said he was – the penultimate aspect of a well-made play.
Finally, in a well-made play, there is a denouement. The denouement is the final resolution of a dramatic plot, however in “An Inspector Calls” there is no denouement. The play finishes abruptly with a mistaken-identity, and the audience are left to ponder over the outcome of the characters.
Priestley's “An Inspector Calls” follows the conventions of a well-made play to a considerable extent, but Priestley has no denouement in the play. However, I prefer the ending of “An Inspector Calls” to an alternative ending for the play as it provides an open interpretation, and keeps the suspense that has been maintained throughout the play.
