An Inspector Calls at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre – Isaac Ziman, Parmiter’s School

On the 18th, it gathered quite the audience, with all 1200 seats in the theatre being occupied. The crowd waited in anticipation for the show to begin, and finally the red curtains were drawn. An Inspector Calls is a 1945 play written by J.B Preistley revolving around the apparent suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith. Overall, the play is trying to demonstrate the issues with capitalism and how a fair society can only be achieved through every individual having social responsibility. 

It’s fair to assume that the majority of the people who flooded into the Aylesbury Theatre were ready to supplement their GCSE work on An Inspector Calls, so had a basic understanding of the play. However, the beginning of the show was not relevant towards the story of An Inspector Calls. Although every script writer has their right to artistic licence, the use of a child running across the stage wasn’t necessary and purely confused those who are less familiar with the play. 

As well as that, the first scenes where characters and relationships are introduced, was taking place inside a dining room that was not visible to the audience. These beginning scenes are crucial for understanding the play, and having the actors locked away would only confuse the patrons.

After that point, the play continued to become more enjoyable to watch, and the final scenes were especially moving as emotive acting came into play. The actors bowed to a standing ovation, and the atmosphere seemed positive in the foyer.