Theatrical Techniques

Morality plays were popular during the 15th and 16th-centuries. Historically they sought to teach the audience lessons that focused on the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Whilst characters who committed these sins were punished, morality plays showed that if a character repented then they could redeem themselves.

An Inspector Calls is a morality play because all of the Birlings and Gerald Croft commit crimes which are similar to the seven deadly sins. Mr Birling is greedy because he wants more money, Sheila is guilty of wrath and envy when she spitefully complains about Eva Smith and so on. Not all of the characters manage to redeem themselves.

What is the effect of this?

Priestley uses the morality play structure to teach a 20th-century audience a series of lessons that relate to his beliefs about social responsibility, age, gender and class. The audience is invited to enjoy judging these characters - they are also forced to question their own behaviour. Priestley would have hoped that people watching the play would have left the theatre as better people.

A crime thriller is a genre that tells a gripping tale based around a crime. The audience receives clues on who has committed the crime and will enjoy trying to guess what happened before the end of the action.

An Inspector Calls is a crime thriller because the action centres around the suicide of Eva Smith. Initially, as this is a suicide and not a murder investigation, it would seem that there is no clear suspect. It soon turns out that all the characters are potential suspects for different reasons.

What is the effect of this?

The crime thriller genre encourages the audience to become involved in the events of the play. In this case they would be considering who is 'more' to blame for the death of Eva Smith. Ultimately, Priestley makes the audience suspects, their behaviour is questioned and they are left wondering if they had committed any 'crimes' like the Birlings had.

A well-made play is a popular dramatic genre from the 19th-century. In a well-made play the plot is intricate and complex and the action builds to a climax. This is often concerned with events that happened before the events of the play. A well-made play usually ends with a return to order but Priestley moves away from this genre with the revelation at the end.

An Inspector Calls is a well-made play because the events are all influenced by what happened to Eva Smith before the play takes place

What is the effect of this?

This structure allows J B Priestley to manipulate the audience. They do not know what happened to Eva Smith and so each revelation about her treatment by the Birlings and Gerald Croft adds to the drama. Each revelation is more shocking than the last and this structure allows Priestley to build toward a climax. In An Inspector Calls there is a twist at the end of the plot - the characters are unsure if the Inspector existed at all. This gives the audience time to reflect on the events of the play. When it is revealed that another inspector is on their way and the curtain falls, the audience would be stunned.

Use of structure in An Inspector Calls

The structure of something is how the writer chooses to order the events of the story. Does it follow a traditional structure with a beginning, middle and end, or does it follow a different order? How do they focus our attention? Does the way they reveal information to us increase the dramatic effect?

An Inspector Calls is written in three acts. Priestley cleverly structures the acts so that each of them ends on a gripping cliff-hanger. There is also a final climax, and then another twist at the very end. This use of structure helps to keep the audience gripped throughout.

Cliff-hangers

Consider how the ending of Act One adds to the drama of the play.

Sheila:* (laughs rather hysterically) Why - you fool - he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don't know yet. You'll see. You'll see.

She looks at him almost in triumph.

He looks crushed.** The door slowly opens and the INSPECTOR appears, looking steadily and searchingly at them.)

Inspector: *** Well?

* By the end of the act, Sheila is growing hysterical - thought remember that this means she's changed as well as meaning slightly mad. She realises that the Inspector knows all and the audience would be struck by the dramatic change in her. She also talks about information that the inspector knows, but that they – and the audience – don’t know yet. This would intrigue and interested audience.

** The the Inspector “slowly” opens the door as he returns, which is very dramatic, the look he gives them adds to the tension. This moment would allow for a dramatic pause so that the drama could really sink in.

*** Finally, the act ends on a question - the audience are desperate to know the answer.

Remember that during the breaks between acts the audience would be in the theatre bar, talking about the play and guessing at what might happen next. Playwrights are very aware of this fact.

A Tangled Web - Timing

One of the most effective things about An Inspector Calls is the way that Priestly reveals information. Each of the characters is implicated, one after another, with each “crime” being worse than the one before.

Also, and most effectively, is the way he handles Mrs Birling and Eric. Up until this point he has revealed the characters’ failings in order, but he approaches Mrs Birling before Eric, ensuring that she condemns her son so he doesn’t have to.

And in a wonderful moment of dramatic irony, Sheila realises where the inspector is going – triggering an awareness in the audience – so that by the time Eric enters the only person who doesn’t know that he is guilty is his mother who still enthusiastically writes him off.

The twist ending

Birling: That was the police. A girl has just died - on her way to the Infirmary - after swallowing some disinfectant. And a police inspector is on his way here - to ask some - questions.

As they stare guiltily and dumbfounded, the curtain falls

This is an effective ending - almost a second ending (with the inspector's speech being the first.) The Birlings and Gerald are stunned, especially Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald who just a minute ago had been sure they were in the clear. The audience would be shocked and left with lots of unanswered questions.

The ending also reflects Priestley's interest in theories about time, including the idea that individuals re-enter their lives again after death, living it all over again. They can make changes to their previous actions, beginning a new cycle where they do not repeat the mistakes of their past.

We can see this in the structure of the play as the cycle of events is about to start all over again, with an investigation into the suicide of a young girl. Sheila and Eric have learned from their mistakes and could escape this cycle, whereas the others have not.