Directing J.B. Priestley's 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.
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
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
it will create. He makes a toast to the couple and to the fact that
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
The setting is London in 1854, which is very different to anything we know today. Johnson’s description of this time and place makes it seem like a whole other world from the here and now....
J.B. Priestley's Motives Behind An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1894. His mother
The story of Eva Smith is a dramatic one. JB Priestley is full of good
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
return: "I don't give a damn now. Do you think Eric has ever stood up
Priestley’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ to enhance the message that ‘we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself. He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others.
Written in 1947, J.B. Priestley's didactic murder-mystery, An Inspector Calls, accentuates the fraudulent Edwardian era in which the play was set. Britain in 1912 was inordinately different to Britain in 1947, where a country annihilated by war was determined to right the wrongs of a society before them. In 1912 Britain was at the height of Edwardian society, known as the "Golden Age". A quarter of the globe was coloured red, denoting the vast and powerful Empire and all Britons, no matter what class they belonged to were proud to be British - the "best nation in the world".
especially for a woman. Even if a woman did get a job they would get
in jeopardy than how he may have driven a young girl down a spiral to
Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young