An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley is the first of two productions by Glenbrook Player’s for their 2018 season.
Widely considered to be a classic of mid-20th century theatre, Priestley’s masterfully crafted drawing room mystery is a multi-layered exploration of society in the first decades of the 20th century. Priestley’s play examines collective responsibility and accountability through the cultural lens of one upper middle class family as their privileged world crumbles in the face of social upheaval and uncertainty as the World War I conflict looms.
The bourgeois Birling family’s night of self-congratulatory celebration on the occasion of the engagement of their daughter Sheila (Julie Thode) to high society scion, Gerald Croft (Gabriel Mark Pope), descends into confusion and chaos with the arrival of Police Inspector Goole (John Bailey), who has brought some disturbing news and has some hard questions to put to them all. Patriarch Arthur Birling (Christopher Bancroft), his wife Sybil (Jill Hogwood) and son Eric (Josh Stojanovich) all find the visit deeply unsettling.
The production is directed by Cassandra Strasiotto who joined the Glenbrook Players in 2009 after having performed with Ashfield Musical Society, Woodstock Players and the Genesian Theatre. She has had many roles with the Players, both on stage and off.
“The play is inspired by the horrors of two world wars,” Strasiotto said, “and is set two years before the first of these. It can be seen as a critique of capitalism and hypocrisy, but it is much more than that. The dynamic interplay, psychological motivations and guilty secrets that emerge from each character are at the heart of drama in its purest sense.”.
Strasiotto is drawing on the talents of an experienced, well-seasoned cast and nurturing the talents of some newer members. The design team includes Ainslie Yardley and Stewart MacPherson (set), Heather McGreal (costume), Paul Hardaker (lighting), Keelan Ellis (sound), Jill Hogwood (hair) and Grace Bradford (make-up).
An Inspector Calls opens at Glenbrook Community Theatre on Friday, May 11, with performances on May 12th, 18th and 19th. Bookings at glenbrookplayers.com.au.
