The first interrogation begins with Birling. For this particular interrogation I will sideline a black shadow lightning and adjust the spotlight to face Birling so we would see how he reacts to the Inspector’s questions. What I would particularly want to focus on is Mr Birling’s actions. The reason for this being I want to check on every move he makes and see how he responds to all the pressure hipped up on him by the Inspector’s professionalism. The selection and application of language the Inspector uses is very effective as it traps Birling and puts him in all kinds of pressure but at the end he only has himself to blame. For example the Inspector says, “It’s my duty to ask questions”. Here we are shown how easily Birling gets trapped and tries to stop the Inspector from asking any more questions. Showing all this on stage will make a real impact. I will show the Inspector talk using strong and “posh” words to make Birling think and therefore pressure him. The Inspector will come to stages where he needs to stand to get Mr Birling unsettled and force responses out of him.
Mikhail
The photograph has a huge insight to it. It leaves everyone shattered and speechless. As an audience you can say that its quite obvious that everyone in the Birling family had something to do with the girl in the photograph. Mr Birling is at the top of the queue to see the photograph as he is being interrogated. Before the Inspector shows the photograph he needs to cover up the photo with his body so that no-one else can se the photograph before their turn comes. This proves that the Inspector is a calm and collected character and likes to plan the way he goes about his business. “All in good time”, shows that the Inspector is organised and focuses on one conversation at a time. On the other hand we “the audience”, could say that the Inspector is preventing the audience from revealing the answer to this mystery. At this point everyone should be quiet and respond by showing body movements. This will show that everyone wants to find out whom the girl is when his or her turn comes. To keep the mystery alive the photograph shouldn’t be shown to the audience so those who understand what’s going on could enjoy the play.
Birling’s interrogation is quite significant in way as he is the head of the house and his whole family looks up to him as their “protector”. As the interrogation begins the Inspector shows Birling the photograph to bring back some memories Birling could possible hold from his days with Eva Smith (the girl who drank herself to death). Mr Birling attempts to bribe the Inspector and have him cast the case. “Now, Inspector, perhaps you and I had better go and talk this over quietly in a corner”. This quotation proves how much guilt Mr Birling has in his heart and will prefer it if the interrogation and all the charges were dropped against him and his family. At this stage the Inspector proves to be unpersuasive and quite stubborn in way. As the interrogation proceeds the Inspector has more time to choose the kind of words which will make trap Birling in his lies and make the truth come out of him. We can sense that the mystery is getting revealed bit by bit.
Family relationships seem to be in the way of what happened recently before Eva passed away. Sheila quite rightly doesn’t want anyone standing up for her and she is not talented at lying. The comments, “Why should you? He’s finished with you. He says it’s one of us now”. This clearly states that Sheila thinks it’s time to come out and speak up for herself. In the process she gets emotionally taken advantage of and this proves to be effective. The Inspector uses words like “pretty”, get Sheila involved in the conversation and lead to her being trapped and she tells how what she did may have led to this death. Whereas on the other hand, Eric doesn’t mind a shove in the back from his parents. In the beginning Birling looks to be ordering Eric around. “You’ve had enough of that port, Eric”. This states that Eric’s life is still very much in the hands of his father and hasn’t matured enough to make the right decisions. Although Eric doesn’t like being told what to do he can’t defend himself, in comparison to Sheila who can say what she feels when she wants. Overall it’s simple to say that this family is not civilised and organised.
Mikhail
When Sheila enters the room she is still in a good mood and feeling pleased with herself. She gets sucked in the conversation and the Inspector sees all that and uses selective language to get Sheila deep into the conversation. Birling tries to make her leave but she hits back and suggests that Birling should not interferer in her conversation with the Inspector, as they are finished with him. “Why should you? He’s finished with you. He says it’s one of us now”. This clearly states that Sheila thinks it’s time to come out and speak up for herself. In the process of trying to play such a dangerous role she gets touched by the use of language the Inspector has over her and is caught in her speech. The Inspector uses words like “pretty”, get Sheila involved in the conversation and lead to her being trapped and she tells how what she did may have led to this death. This is an example that is being set by Sheila and others around her could benefit from it. The truth is the best way out of trouble and you will save yourself from being embarrassed.
In conclusion I think the decisions I’ve made are effective and will be shown in the play. The moods of the play need to be changed often so that it the audience can interpret the play more easily. Throughout the whole play we can tell that everyone in the Birling family might have done something that made Eva kill herself. There’s a little bit of mystery, as the Inspector won’t show the photograph at the same time. It looks like he has more than one photograph and therefore leads to the audience suggesting that he might be showing different people in the photographs or is he? This is a really well planned play and gets the audience involved throughout.
Mikhail
