Review: An Inspector Calls at Sunderland Empire

“…be enthralled, enraged and engaged…”

An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley, Sunderland Empire

By Lauren Powell

“What are you doing on Tuesday night? I have tickets to an Inspector Calls at Sunderland Empire if you want to join me?” I voice-noted my work bestie as soon as I got the good news from my editor that I had scored this review.

“Not since my GCSEs.” he said, “but I’d love to come!”

My immediate thought was: uh oh, people will really know this play, it’s such a classic GCSE text – except I missed it because my English class did The Craft instead. What if my take is really basic – a C at best? Will everyone who took this play for English GCSE be sniggering at my lack of sophistication? Whatever, here’s this first-timer’s impressions.

The premise in a nutshell is that the wealthy and influential Birling family are having a gathering when Inspector Goole descends on them with questions about the death of a young woman – and it exposes the soft white underbelly of their hypocrisy and corruption. I don’t think I was ready for this to be so timely. This commentary of the casual cruelty of capitalism is so relevant, considering the chaos caused by recent benefit cuts. An Inspector Calls is such a quotable play; a really haunting quote that stuck with me long into the night was this: 

“And I tell you that the time will come when, if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”

Given this was written in 1945 and set in 1912 I cannot stress enough that this is the sort of cultural content we need to shine a light on the kind of society we still live in.

The quality of this production was astounding. When I read that this production had won 19 major awards I thought, ‘only 19?’ This may be one of my favourite stage settings ever. Just off centre stage was a house made up of the strangest angles to add to the feeling of perspective. I wondered how they were going to work around it at first, then the front of the house swung open to reveal an exquisitely designed dining room. Such a proficient balance of detail really drew you into the time period and the lavish lives of the dastardly Birling family.

The music was so powerful – no wonder it was composed by Stephen Warbeck. It was intense, a bit spooky, the use of strings was almost malicious in their menacing timbre. My spine was tingling, and waves of chills would sweep over me. It left me with a haunting feeling I can’t quite put my finger on. I would sell my right arm to see this with live music.

I am a total sucker for lighting design and Rick Fisher’s lighting design was really good. I knew I was in for a visual feast when the shadow of Inspector Goole was cast over the house with some low lighting. His presence looming over the household was tinglingly ominous. The use of brown made everything feel uneasy yet was very much of the pre-WW1 time period. It was subtle, and elegant. Combined with some of the effects it was some of the most effective eerie atmosphere production I have ever seen. Early in the play there is rain – I swear I couldn’t fathom if it was real water or just clever lighting. I am still not 100% sure. There is a lot of fog in this play. Often I find the smoke machine is overused to hide another deficit but in this case it felt so dense and sinister, you never knew who would emerge. Completely new to me was the use of effects to make it look like dust was falling from the ceiling. The sudden change in the texture of the air was just perfect to add to the moment.

Leona Allen as Sheila Birling stole the show. I loved her voice, her delivery, her chaotic yet graceful physicality. I wasn’t sure if she was just an amazing actress or if she had superior material in her character to work with. She radiated Disney bully – you know, the girl who is mean to the princess but then it turns out she’s just a bit selfish and self-involved and inevitably redeemable. 

I will admit I struggled to hear Jeffrey Harmer as Mr Birling at the start of the play. He has a very deep voice and I just couldn’t catch him over the rustle of popcorn and assorted snacks in the audience. Nevertheless, I loved the depth and detail he put into his performance. At one point he blew a smoke ring and as a lifelong non-smoker I was envious that I have no way to signal my smugness and casual contempt for someone in such a manner. 

Controversially, I rarely find child actors make a play better unless they are key to the story. However, in this instance there is a small boy – Thomas Richardson – who was so charming I found him a total delight. My colleague described him as “a vibe” – a take I really liked. This child really embodied playfulness and innocence. Really, if this young actor isn’t one to watch centre stage himself in ten years I will eat my copy of the programme. 

In short, if you are horrified by the state of the world today this performance may just tip you over the edge. Go – be enthralled, enraged and engaged. This is certainly not just for kids sitting their GCSEs. An Inspector Calls has such a solid social message; we are all Eva Smith and yet we are all to blame.  If I had to give it a grade it would be 5 A*.       

An Inspector Calls plays at Sunderland Empire until Saturday 12 April. Tickets are available here.

Lauren Powell is a recovering academic from the North East of England. Currently residing in South Shields with her partner and two malevolent gerbils. Lauren is a short form writer who writes fiction as well as reviews. She has loved the theatre since childhood, and many years ago volunteered back stage with an amateur group, Stage Focus.  From one man readings to musical and beyond, Lauren can not get enough! You can find her on Twitter/X here.