Write in detail about the effect and staging possibilities of two or three exits and entrances in 'An Inspector Calls'.

Salmaan Bhutta 10.1

An Inspector Calls - Exits and Entrances

The Question

All exits and entrances are important in a play. Write in detail about the effect and staging possibilities of two or three exits and entrances in ‘An Inspector Calls’.

For Each

Design a stage plan showing the placements and movements of the characters.
Explain your ideas in relation to previous events in the play.
Refer in detail, using quotation, to the dramatic impact of the dialogue and stage directions.

The Answer

As the title says, all exits and entrances are important. They are important for different reasons. Some are important because they introduce new characters. Some are important because they cause dramatic tension. Others are important because they start a scene, act or play.

I have chosen two entrances and one exit. My entrances are the Inspector walking in on Gerald and Sheila. The other entrance is Eric’s appearance after his walk. The exit I have chosen is the Inspector’s final exit.

An Inspector Calls is true to Aristotle’s unities. All of the play takes place in one setting, the house. The action of the play represents no more than one day and takes place in real time. No action or scene is a digression; all contribute to the play’s main theme, the death of Eva Smith.

Because of Aristotle's unities all the action takes place in one room. Since all the action takes place in one setting all my stage plans will have the same basic shell. The stage changes slightly during the play. At the beginning they are eating so there is a dining table and chairs visible. But later on there are large comfortable chairs and a fireplace. This is true to J.B Priestly’s original directions. All my exits and entrances are in the later part of the play so the large chairs and fireplace are on stage. Also on the stage there will be a sideboard for drinks, a door at the back of the stage and two small tables. One table near the door, with the telephone on it, and the other near the three large chairs.

The first entrance-Inspector on Gerald and Sheila

The first entrance I am looking at is the Inspector’s entrance interrupting Gerald and Sheila while they are talking. This entrance is at the end of Act one when the curtain falls, and carries on at the beginning of act two in the exact same positions when the curtain rises. In the stage directions it says, “the door slowly opens and the Inspector appears looking steadily and searchingly at them” then at the beginning of Act Two it says, “at the rise, scene and situation are exactly as they were at the end of act one. The Inspector remains at the door for a few moments looking at Sheila and Gerald. Then he comes forward, leaving the door open behind him.

In the stage diagram I have tried to show this, and all the movements of the characters. I thought from the actual text of the play, and in the way the play’s stage directions are written, that the Inspector is trying to ease into the room so not focus attention on to himself, so it is a surprise for the characters and they don’t notice he’s there and carry on talking. As far as I can see Gerald is trying to persuade Sheila into believing him, and Sheila is listening, so Gerald is walking forward and Sheila walking backwards. Later in the dialogue Sheila's character becomes more dominating telling Gerald that its not worth it and puts pressure on Gerald. At this point the movements would be reversed Sheila walking forward in control and Gerald retreating away. When the Inspector says “Well” they turn round to face him; I did this to emphasise the characters shock at the entrance. The Inspector’s character will come in slowly. Like Priestly's original stage directions the door will open slowly revealing the Inspector standing in shadow. He will say, “Well” just as Sheila finishes her dialogue. Then again at the beginning of Act Two he will move forwards and say “well”. The Inspector will move towards the characters keeping eye contact with Gerald.

I think this is a very dramatic entrance and the lighting should reflect this in its dramatic effect. When Gerald and Sheila are talking the lighting should be slightly dim but not dark. As they are talking the lighting should dim until the characters are barely visible. At this point a spotlight should focus on the door at the back of the stage. Then the door should open slowly to show the Inspector in silhouette. He should then say “well” just as the curtain drops to keep the audience guessing as to who was in the doorway. When the ...

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This entrance as a whole has a lot of dramatic impact because it is the Inspector walking in on Gerald admitting to Sheila about Eva Smith or Daisy Renton. In that sense it is also a key point in the play as another person is confessing and another piece of the puzzle of Eva Smith is put into place. The dialogue just before, and immediately after emphasises the dramatic impact of this entrance. After having this conversation with Sheila, Gerald says

“You don’t, neither of us does. So for god’s sake don’t say anything to the Inspector.”

To the audience this seems ironic, because Gerald is trying to keep something away from the Inspector, that the Inspector already knows. Later on Sheila says, (rather hysterically)

“Why you fool he knows. Of course he knows and I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t yet. You’ll see you’ll see”.

This again makes an impact because Sheila is telling Gerald that he’s not going to be able to keep anything away from the Inspector and showing him where things stand. Gerald is hoping the Inspector doesn’t know anything and hasn’t realised, but Sheila has understood he knows and is pulling him back down to earth. This is reflected in the stage directions, which say, “she looks at him almost in triumph. He looks crushed.” Another sentence that adds enormously to the dramatic impact of this entrance is when the Inspector says “well?” at the end of Act One and beginning of Act Two. This adds to the dramatic tension because it is the introduction of the Inspector to this scene, and because Gerald's secret has been heard, or has it? The audience isn’t sure whether the Inspector heard what was said or how long he has been standing there. The audiences’ attention has been on Gerald and Sheila's conversation so they have no idea about the Inspector this adds more tension. At the beginning of Act Two the Inspector says “Well?” again but this time it seems more directed as if now he is talking to Gerald personally.

The second Entrance- Eric

The second entrance I am looking at is the entrance that sees the return of Eric from his walk “looking extremely pale”. This is a critical point in the play because it is the beginning of Eric's confession. The Inspector, Sheila, Birling, and Mrs Birling are all in the room. Gerald has gone out for a walk to clear his head and they are awaiting the return of either of them. Eric stormed out earlier on in the play after not wanting to leave, and the front door was heard. They have all just heard the front door open. Mrs Birling has just said how she wants the man who did this to Eva Smith to be made an example, not realising it is Eric she is talking about.

Just before Eric's entrance Mrs Birling has just realised that her son may be involved. Sheila says “Mother I begged you and begged you to stop” At this point the Inspector holds up his hand and stops them just as the front door is heard opening. This makes the possibility that the Inspector is a supernatural being seem more of a likely option as he can predict, or at least anticipate, the future. At this point everyone should turn from wherever they were to look at the door awaiting the arrival of the man to be made an example of. There should be a pause before the door opens, and Eric's head pops round the door. I think he should do this rather than a grand entrance like the Inspectors. I think this because it would give the impression of a frightened schoolboy who knows he's done something naughty. In a sense Eric is a frightened schoolboy who knows something bad is going to happen to him and he doesn’t quite know what to do in this situation. He should look pale so as to be true to the stage directions. As at the end of Act Two in the other entrance, the curtain then falls. When it rises they should be in exactly the same positions. Then Eric should come though the door and say, “You know, don’t you” After this Eric should walk in to the room with his shoulders turned away from them and walk near them. Then he should notice the sideboard and point to it asking for a drink that he goes and gets. He should stay near the sideboard while they’re talking.

I think the lighting for this scene should be fairly basic so not to distract from the dialogue and action too much. The audience should be able to hear the front door open and then close as if Eric is trying not to make much noise. Then there should be a pause to show Eric is nervous and not sure whether to go into the room or not. The door handle should turn and then Eric's head should be seen just as the curtain falls.

The stage directions and dialogue have a lot of dramatic impact in this entrance. The first part of this scene is almost silent because the Inspector has made everybody listen to the front door. The sound of the front door is the only sound after the Inspector’s hand before the curtain drops. The hand of the Inspector has a lot of dramatic impact in itself. When I read the stage directions it said, “Inspector holds up hand” It seems to me the Inspector is holding his hand up, palm open like a traffic warden. This makes him say “halt “stop talking” or “ listen” without physically speaking a word this shows the dramatic impact of J.B Priestly’s stage directions. The hand also gives the Inspector a supernatural edge because again he knows what is going to happen before it does. Another stage direction, which has a lot of dramatic impact, is

“Eric enters the room looking extremely pale and distressed.”

This has dramatic impact because it again gives the frightened schoolboy impression. It makes Eric look as if he is scared worried or has been thinking about something. This also gives the audience an idea of what is going to happen next but they still don’t know what is actually going to happen. When the curtain falls it leaves them on a cliffhanger like the last Act. The audience want to know what Eric did to Sheila and what he is going to say.

So far I have only talked about the stage directions but the dialogue also has a lot of dramatic impact. The dialogue in the scene before the curtain falls has a lot of impact and tension of the dramatic kind. This is the scene where Mrs Birling is telling the Inspector to make a public example of this man who she doesn’t realise is her son. This creates a great deal of dramatic irony because the audience have guessed by now that the young man is Eric and only Mrs Birling doesn’t know. The way she finds out also generates a lot of dramatic tension. Mrs Birling tells the Inspector to go but he says,

“I’m waiting”

Mrs Birling says,

“Waiting for what?”

The Inspector replies

“To do my duty”

This creates dramatic impact because Mrs Birling has finally found out that it is Eric. The words that probably give the most dramatic impact in this bit of the play are

“You know, don’t you?”

These words generate so much impact because they are the first words Eric says when he comes through the door and the first words of Act Three. It is also slightly unreal because he knows what's been happening in the room even though he's been walking around outside. He has guessed that the Inspector will have worked out his secret, which he has been hiding.

The Third Exit- The Inspector’s final departure

The third and final exit I am looking at is probably the most important in the play it is when the Inspector finally leaves after giving his “fire blood and anguish” speech. Just before he leaves the Inspector summarizes each characters involvement and what they have done. I think he does this so they are heavily in thought and have no need to stop him leaving.

As you can see from the stage diagram there is a lot of movement in the exit. The Inspector, speaks to each character in turn reminding them of what they have done, before his finally speech to them all before he leaves. Firstly he talks to Sheila about her getting Eva sacked. Then he talks to Mr Birling about why he sacked her and so on. As the arrows on my stage diagram show he moves from one person to another talking to only one person at a time as he does at all times during the play. He showed the photo individually and questioned the characters individually. After he leaves Mrs Birling sits down in the chair and Sheila walks to the side of the stage crying. Eric is stood at the sideboard and Mr Birling is pacing and he then walks over to the sideboard with Eric. Mr Birling is the only active one and he is active through the whole play.

The Inspector makes a very significant speech just before he leaves. At the beginning of this speech the lighting should be slightly dim to reflect the other characters mood but they should all be visible. When the Inspector utters the word “fire blood and anguish” the spotlight should flash red and orange to reflect his mood. The spotlight should flash in time with the words also to emphasise the importance and foresight of these words. The spotlight should then remain white and follow him out the room. When he leaves from sight the stage should go black and the spotlights should come on showing each of the characters.

In this exit I think both the stage directions and the dialogue generate dramatic impact. Probably the best speech or at least the speech with the most dramatic impact is the Inspectors “fire, blood and anguish speech”. The dramatic impact of this is great because of the fact he is seeing into the future and predicting war. The Inspector says,

This speech highlights the central theme of the play, responsibility and guilt. He says, “we are responsible for each other” like in Eva Smith’s case they were all responsible to her in some way. The Inspector also says “goodnight” at the end, which brings everything to a close with him leaving. It shows it is his final speech and he feels there is nothing else to add. This highlights J.B Priestly’s view on life politics and the problems with society. It is obvious what he thinks about the wars.

The stage directions also produce dramatic impact in their description of his departure. They say, “He walks straight off” this shows he is leaving of his own accord after he has finished not after being asked to leave. It also says, “leaving them staring, subdued and wondering.” This illustrates that the characters are unsure and don’t know what to say or do. The words of the Inspector are stuck in their minds and they can’t quite take it in. The stage directions also show how each character is affected by telling us what they are doing. “Sheila is still quietly crying”; this again shows Sheila as the weak female that can’t live with what she has done. “Mrs Birling has collapsed into a chair,” this once more shows she is shocked and has collapsed at what the Inspector has said. The two other characters are standing “Birling the only active one” is moving about and goes to pour himself a drink as if he wants to drown his sorrows. “Eric is brooding desperately” this is yet more evidence that Priestly wanted to show women as the weaker sex. The men are standing because they are strong and can take this or at least hide it. But the women are weak and are crying or have collapsed into a chair making them appear less mentally and physically strong.

Priestly’s points of view are made clear through dialogue as well. The Inspector’s final speech particularly stands out as one of the speeches where it is Priestly talking not just the characters. The speech is Priestly warning about war as well as the Inspector warning the Birlings. He says,

“We are members of one body, we are responsible for each other and I tell you the time will come when if man will not learn that lesson, then he will be taught it in fire blood and anguish good night.” This clearly is Priestly’s view on war and the causes. He is basically saying that if men had taken responsibility for their actions then they would not have been taught a lesson in fire, blood and anguish, and less, or no men, would have died in the trenches or on the beaches as a result of war. This is relevant all through the play. In fact the play could be an analogy of war; each country is shown as a character and Eva is all the millions of dead. As far as I can see “An Inspector Calls” is J.B Priestly’s view on life, politics, sociology, class and the division or difference of the sexes and the stage is a good way of getting his points voiced and his message heard.