Review: AN INSPECTOR CALLS at Greystone Mansion

J.B Priestley’s 1945 morality play AN INSPECTOR CALLS is as relevant today as it was when it first premiered, the divide between the Haves and Have-nots as wide as ever. Immediately successful when it moved to London from the Soviet Union (where it launched), it has been mounted several times through the decades, winning Olivier, Drama Desk, and Tony Awards, and being adapted for television, radio, and film.

In 1912 England, the upscale Birling family — patriarch Arthur (David Hunt Stafford), matriarch Sybil (Diana Angelina), and son Eric (Monty Renfrow) — are celebrating the engagement of daughter Sheila (Katyana Rocker-Cook) to Gerald (Isaac W. Jay), the son of one of her father’s rivals, when they are interrupted by Inspector Goole (Mouchette Van Helsdingen), imperious and impervious, who has questions for each of them about the death of a former employee from Arthur’s factory, blowing up the entire night as well as the family. Playing like a murder-mystery without the murder, everyone being a suspect, each player found guilty.

Taking place on a single night, it’s a bit of a soap opera by way of a particularly existential Twilight Zone episode while also tackling class, entitlement, and status. And while the Birlings and Gerald seem to have it all, their facades are fatally cracked. Sybil chairs a charity, which she thinks makes her superior, so she is haughty toward those she deems less than. Authoritative Arthur is marrying his daughter off to clinch a partnership with the aforementioned rival. Sheila is so insecure she treats others poorly. Eric has a drinking problem he doesn’t even try to hide. And Gerald is a self-important rascal. The thing about Inspector Poole is that she seems to know all of this about the family, and more. 

A classic of mid-20th-century English theater, Priestley’s script has complexity and he gives each of his characters shades of gray, morals and ethics competing to obscure the truth. Director Cate Caplin guides her actors with a commanding hand. As the script becomes darker and more involved, the characters become a bit unglued, revealing their humanity in subtle ways. The actors are superb across the board, with Hunt Stafford making his crustiness look effortless, Jay being sympathetic even when being a jerk, and Rocker-Cook bringing a strength to Sheila’s fragility. And Van Helsdingen is the glue that holds the entire project together, always one step ahead and unyielding in her questioning.

Theatre Forty, which usually produces shows in Beverly Hills High, was smart to bring this one to Greystone Mansion. It’s the perfect setting for it. It could be the home of the Birling family, which adds to the unsettling atmosphere. It’s both intimate and gothic. The costumes by Michael Mullen are striking and exquisite, and the set by Jeff G. Rack makes great use of the mansion’s setting.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS is a splendid production of an excellent play brought to life by a talented director and an excellent cast and crew. But in some ways, the venue steals the show!

Photographer: Gabriel Tejeda-Benitez.

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