Interview: Director Cate Caplin on Moving AN INSPECTOR CALLS into Greystone Mansion

J.B. Priestley’s Hitchcockian suspense drama An Inspector Calls enjoyed a very successful run at Theatre 40 during this past November/December, directed with great skill and innovation by Cate Caplin. As of January 8, the production moves into the stately Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, a perfect location for the play’s action centering on the Birling Family - Arthur, Sylvia, Sheila, and Eric - who live in a comfortable home in Brumley, a fictional English industrial city in the north Midlands where Arthur owns a large plant and employs many locals.

For those not familiar with the play, the story begins with the family gathering in their drawing room after enjoying a splendid dinner to celebrate their daughter Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft. Soon, an unexpected doorbell is answered by the family’s maid Edna, who announces an inspector is calling. A tall and stately woman enters who identifies herself as Police Inspector Goole, saying she is there to ask the family about a young working-class woman in her mid-twenties, Eva Smith, whose recent suicide might be linked to them.

Director Cate Caplin. Photo Credit: Natalie Bible

Under the inspector’s relentless questioning and Caplin’s brilliant direction, the seemingly closely knit and friendly family members reveal themselves to be selfish, self-centered, greedy, or totally uninterested in those of less social status than they are, especially Eva Smith, whose ghost often visits without uttering a word as if to signal each possible guilty party, including Sheila’s fiancé Gerald.

But as they become overwhelmed by their possible guilt in her death, the group begins to question who this inspector really is and why does her behavior seem so unlike any police officer the family has ever known? And then there is that phone call…

David Hunt Stafford, Quinn Ruby DeVries, Monty Renfrow, Katyana Rocker-Cook, Diana Angelina. Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

I decided to speak with director Cate Caplin about moving the production into Greystone Mansion, the possible challenges to be faced, and why she thinks it’s a perfect location for the play.

It’s good to speak with you again, Cate. When were you first approached about moving the play into Greystone?

David Hunt Stafford, the Artistic Director of Theatre 40 alerted me to the possibility of an extension at Greystone when I first signed on to direct. We had moved a previously production of mine to Greystone, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” a few years ago and I was excited to return, especially with this thriller and knowing how it would play in that setting.

You received so much praise for your direction of the play at Theatre 40. Where did you get the idea to add the character of Eva Smith’s ghost to the story?

Isabella Dibernardino (as Eva Smith) & Isaac W. Jay
Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

I have not seen any of the film adaptations of the story (I believe there are 4!), but I heard there were flashback scenes involving Eva Smith and that’s when I first got the idea. I thought, why not bring to life the memory of Eva in relation to each of the family member’s recounting of their relationship with her?! It would personalize her demise in a way I felt would be more immediately palpable.

How did you decide when to have her visit?

I experimented and “workshopped” the idea and because it is not an element IN the script as written, I tried out different choices of when she might come in, with different entrance spots in the space and then played with the timing of entrances and exits while the action was happening within the story telling - feeling out intuitively how much was too much or not enough… Because of my deep roots in dance and additional choreographic sensibilities, I approached these moments like additional opportunities to express without words through the type of specific movement, and also talked to our sound and light designer about how to heighten and elevate the effect of each “appearance" through tone and mood.

David Hunt-Stafford,Katyana Rocker-cook, Diana Angelina, Monty Renfrow
Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

Are you keeping the same blocking as it was at Theatre 40 or what changes do you anticipate having to make?

I am going to have to re-block entrances and exits throughout this incarnation of the play because at the theatre we had 6 different options of coming and going on stage and at Greystone we have only 2! Our turnaround time is relatively quick in preparation so we will have a load in day where the set is “assembled” with furniture and design elements currently stored at Greystone (we are not recreating the exact design created for Theatre 40). Then there will be a second day of nuts and bolts rehearsal in the space with the entire cast acclimating and reworking the blocking, and then we will have a final night of a run-through and refining of the “new” version of the play before we’re off and running!

Mouchette van Helsdingen & Diana Angelina
Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

What challenges do you anticipate with such a short rehearsal period?

It’s always a matter of thinking on your feet and re-composing the stage pictures around the new set configuration. I don’t want to completely re-block the entire play, so I want to find ways to get on and off while still maintaining bigger sections of the play that can remain as they were originally conceived.

Is the same cast from the Theatre 40 location performing in the play at Greystone?

We have our entire cast coming back for which I am hugely grateful! I love these actors and everything we created together. And after a 5-week run at Theatre 40, they’ve really grown as an ensemble and blossomed. This will be another opportunity for them to stretch and extend their work together.

David Hunt Stafford, Mouchette van Helsdingen
Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

Which actress is playing the ghost of Eva Smith since it was double cast previously?

Both actresses will be sharing the run as they did at Theatre 40, Isabella DiBernardino and Arezu Tavakoli.

Why do you think An Inspector Calls is a good fit for the location? 

The play takes places in 1912 in the home of a highly privileged and socially elevated family. Being in a historic site like Greystone conjures that feeling of the past and, of course, a lifestyle of affluence and entitlement.

Quinn Ruby Devries, Diana Angelina, Issac W. Jay, Monty Renfrow, Katyana Rocker-Cook, David Hunt Stafford. Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

Given the natural light that fills the space, how will you keep the moody atmosphere during matinees?

We decided to bring in light trees and some specialty lighting to enhance the experience of the play in the space. But with so many beautiful tall windows in the room where we are performing, it will be more difficult to fully recreate the ambiance and thriller-infused dramatics we created at Theatre 40 for the matinees. We still do have the help of the theatrical sound design to support the heighten action and emotional tension, but I’m counting on the performances of these gifted actors to ultimately create the tension and suspense of the story without the additional lighting effects that specifically isolated and highlighted the action at Theatre 40.

David Hunt Stafford, Diana Angelina, Isaac W. Jay and Mouchette van Helsdingen
Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez

What are you hoping to add to the production by moving it into Greystone?

I think just being on the estate and experiencing the magnificent setting, the surrounding landscaping and glorious architecture makes the entire theatre outing more of an exciting adventure.

Anything else you would like to add about the production?

I am always honored and grateful to do the work that I love to do most. Directing and collaborating with talented artists, and then sharing the culmination of that creation with theatre-loving audiences is what pleases me most…. This story has been a wonderful challenge stylistically and I am thankful I was given the opportunity to keep growing in new ways as an artist myself!

Thanks so much. See you at Greystone!

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley, directed by Cate Caplin and produced for Theatre 40 by David Hunt Stafford, moves into Greystone Mansion, 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 from January 8-18, 2026 with 7:30PM Shows on January 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, and 17 with 2:00PM Shows on January 10, 11, 18. Ample free parking onsite. Tickets are $75, available by calling (310) 364-3606 or online at http://theatre40.org  

The cast includes Mouchette Van Helsdingen, Katyana Rocker-Cook, Isaac W. Jay, Arezu Tavakoli, David Hunt Stafford, Diana Angelina, Monty Renfrow, Isabella DiBernardino, and Quinn Ruby DeVries.