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Theatre listings >
An Inspector Calls
- UK Tour .
Playwright – JB Priestly.
Director – Stephen Daldry.
Associate Director - Julian Webber.
Designer – Ian Macneil.
Lighting Designer – Rick Fisher.
Music – Stephen Warbeck.
Sound – Rod Mead.
Cast - here.
Company – Royal National Theatre
Venue - The King's Theatre, Glasgow www.kings-glasgow.co.uk
0141 240 1111 297 Bath St.
Dates 4 - 8 March at 7:30pm also Wed, Thurs and Sat Mat
at 2:30pm then continues tour.
Tour Details - here.
Running time - 1 hour 50 minutes (no interval).
Reviewer – Scott Palmer.
Dated but still relevant play in striking production.
There is something timeless about the King's Theatre in Glasgow; the
gilded walls, the massive curtain, the sweeping stairways and grand entrances.
This is clearly a theatre born of the past. It is not a dated space, not
a theatre that has outlived its usefulness, but it still feels....well...."old"
and, though beautiful in its time, little about it can be called inspired
today.
Stephen Daldry's touring production of JB Priestly's classic thriller
'An Inspector Calls' for the Royal National Theatre is perfectly suited
for performance in the King's. The play too has not outlived its usefulness,
and still has relevance to a contemporary audience. It does, however,
feel dated. Although a ground-breaking political commentary in 1944, it
comes across to a modern audience as heavy handed melodrama with a message
too often repeated and too strongly stated. Today surrounded by the threat
of a 21st century war and constant discussion in the media about human
rights and suffering, Priestly's beautifully crafted and inspired play
lacks subtlety.
The production does, however, deserve all of the praise which has been
heaped upon it since Daldry first opened the play at the National Theatre
in September of 1992 and this touring production brings most (if not all)
of the stunning and delightfully clever theatrical tricks of the original
to life. The atmosphere is decidedly "film noir" and Daldry uses every
trick in the book to extend the suspense. The effects work well, bringing
to life both the stark and hopeless street world of post-war England and
the brightly lit universe of privilege and power as seen through the windows
of the Birling family home.
The costumes are spot on, conjuring a real sense of where, and when, we
are in this grey, rainy landscape. Sandra Duncan as Mrs. Birling
fills the stage with presence and seems most comfortably at home here,
while Katherine Tozer's spoiled yet sensitive Sheila Birling, and
her journey from vapid to guilt-ridden, is more than just compelling.
Nicholas Day's Inspector Goole delivers a number of his deadpan
lines dead on target and, through him, we can hear Priestly's haunting
voice asking questions which, though heavy handed, are as relevant today
as they were in 1944.
© Scott Palmer, March 4 2003 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Cast:
Inspector Goole - Nicholas Day.
Sybil Birling - Sandra Duncan.
Arthur Birling - David Roper.
Gerald Croft - Dominic Taylor.
Sheila Birling - Katherine Tozer.
Eric Birling - Jamie DeCourcey.
Edna - Diana Payne Myers.
Review of
the previous National Theatre tour in 2000 seen at King's Edinburgh and
one of this editor's first reviews for the Theatre Section on EdinburghGuide.
2003 tour dates of National Theatre's production
of An Inspector Calls.
Tour begins
24 Jan-8 Feb at Birmingham Repertory Theatre 0121 238 4455.
11-15 Feb at Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent 01782 213800.
18-22 Feb at Brighton Theatre Royal 01273 328488.
25 Feb-1 March at Milton Keynes Theatre 01908 606090.
4-8 March at King's Theatre, Glasgow 0141 2401111.
11-15 March at The Swan, High Wycombe 01494 512000.
18-22 March at Churchill Theatre, Bromley 020 8460 6677.
25-29 March at Richmond Theatre 020 8940 0088.
1-5 April at New Theatre, Cardiff 029 20878889.
8-12 April at Hall For Cornwall, Truro 01872 262465.
15-19 April at Regent Theatre, Ipswich 01473 433100.
29 April-3 May at His Majestey's Theatre, Aberdeen 01224 641122.
6-10 May at The Lowry, Salford Quays 0161 876 2022.
13-17 May at Alhambra Theatre, Bradford 01274 752375.
19-24 May at Grand Opera House, Belfast 028 9024 1919.
26-31 May at Malvern Theatres 01684 892277.
3-7 June at Theatre Royal, Nottingham 0115 9895555.
9-14 June at Theatre Royal, Bath 01225 448844.
16-21 June at Theatre Royal, Plymouth 01752 267222.
24-28 June at New Victoria theatre, Woking 01483 545900.
1-5 July at Theatre Royal, Norwich 01603 630000
8-12 July at Opera House, Jersey 01534 511115.
15-19 July at North Wales Theatre, Llandudno 01492 872000.
Tour ends.
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