Imagine you are directing the play 'An Inspector calls'.

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Jack Munnelly

English Coursework – Imagine you are directing the play ‘An Inspector calls’

Dear Katherine,

I have gathered some information and advice for your part as Sheila in ‘An Inspector Calls’. This should help to give you some background information before you come to rehearsals.

Best of luck!

Jack

An Inspector calls is set in 1912, in a time before the war, and when the Titanic was set to take its maiden voyage. Who would have known that in two years time, the Titanic would be rusting away in the Atlantic Ocean, or that the first-world war would be taking place on earth? The Birling family surely didn’t. That may be why there was such a positive atmosphere in their family home – along with the fact that their daughter is the proud fiancée of Gerald Croft, the son of an upper class and very wealthy man. As this is a family that is highly concerned with status: a strong connection with a well-known and very respected family like the Crofts is sure to put a smile on their faces.

The play starts with a dinner celebration of Sheila Birling’s engagement to Gerald Croft. In the Birling family there is Arthur and Sybil Birling - the parents of Sheila and Eric Birling. They are an upper-middle class family very set in their ways. During the evening’s celebration an unforeseen arrival of a police inspector, disrupts their optimistic celebrations, when he announces the death of a young woman, Eva Smith, whom committed suicide by drinking disinfectant. The upbeat and positive atmosphere soon changes, as one by one, each and every member of the family are brought to expose the shameful truth which links them with her death.

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Sheila’s Character – Sheila is a pretty young woman in her early twenties. She has a rather enthusiastic and jovial character, and is content with what life has given her. She respects her father, and is polite towards him (Example – ‘I’m sorry Daddy. Actually I was listening’ – Page 6). This respect is only apparent at the beginning of the play as her attitude towards him dramatically differs toward the end (Example – ‘(tensely) I want to get out of this. It frightens me the way you talk’). Her attitude changes the most significantly during the play, compared to ...

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