Review of the play An Inspector Calls

I went and saw this play at the Apollo Theatre with my class friends on an English trip. I haven't seen many plays so this experience was quite new to me. The first thing that struck me was the set. Mr Birling's house is on the right which eventually opens up when the inspector arrives, this I thought was quite clever because the inspector 'opens' up their secrets just as the house opens up as he arrives. The small house meant that they couldn't escape from the inspector which emphasised how powerless the Birling family was. My favourite part was the rain that poured down the stage because it is not something I could experience in any other theatre and rain has a negative connotation which summed up the atmosphere. The smoke machines were also a powerful tool as it sparked curiosity and had a sense of mystery. The collapsing set at the end was the best as it caused the most exhilaration; it literally showed how the Birling family's life had been turned upside down. Throughout the play, I was on the edge of my seat as the play grew more and more intense.

The actors and actresses were absolutely astounding; their performance was catching and moving. Every character was convincing, especially the inspector who definitely made an 'impression of massiveness'. However, on the other hand, in the written play, my favourite character was Eric because he was one of the characters who changed the most and learnt from his mistakes maturely. But in this drama he was portrayed as very immature and silly, therefore the amends he made were less convincing. I felt that Sheila and Eric's change from their mistakes were not presented strongly enough and the differing sides weren't as obvious which I thought was important.

Nevertheless, overall it was a brilliant play which I would recommend to everyone because the play really vividly captured the intense moments and brought this to life. The production used many lighting and sound tricks to make it more dramatic which added to the excitement as it can't be experienced everywhere. I have also learnt that light and dark was most important in setting the atmosphere in the play, it was dark and shadowy when the inspector was on stage to create a mysterious atmosphere but bright and light inside the Birling's home as they were jolly and happy. Also every little detail counted because without it, the play would not have been realistic and the audience would not have felt as connected to the play. I enjoyed every bit of the play and it was definitely one of my best experiences yet.