“An Inspector Calls”

Recommended *** The National Theatre of Great Britain has landed on the shores of Lake Michigan ( or at least in the neighborhood at Navy Pier). They are bringing us their thriller of a tale, “An Inspector Calls” in the new  “The Yard” venue that CST has created over the past year. This is their flexible venue that can be reconfigured for every production and has seating that can be all seats, cabater style ( tables and chairs/stools) or very similar to their other stage, The Courtyard with many balconies.

“An Inspector Calls” is a mystery and at times might be a bit confusing unless you pay close attention. You will not want to doze off, because if you miss one little bit, you may be lost forever. By the way, forever in this case is 100 minutes ( no intermission). The play is written by JB Priestly and is directed by Stephen Daldry. The set (Ian MacNeil) is unusual to say the least as the house we see is a miniature one indeed. When the people in the house come out for a cigar, they have to bend down to go thru the doorway. Do not let this bother you! Pay attention to the characters and what they are doing and saying as this is a mystery!

The Inspector (Liam Brennan is powerful in this role) comes from the audience to the stage, led to the stage by a little boy ( Judah Abner Paul) who is our curtain opener as well. I suppose he represents the townspeople ( there are quite a few others) as we visit the home of  The Brilling family. They are having an engagement celebration when The Inspector arrives to speak with them. His mission is to advise them of a local suicide. A young girl, who all of the dinner guests know and had a relationship with, has taken her life and that of her unborn child.

Revelations of the relationships between these upper class people and this young woman who one might classify as “homeless” shakes the very foundations of this family. Each person must face the facts about their relationship with her, and if and why they might have been the cause of her dastardly deed. There are some surprises and the ending is one that will cause much conversation, and if you were not paying close attention, may be even more confusing. This whole evening might have been a joke played on the engaged couple by her parents. The entire evening may have been real ! Many will have different opinions of what they saw and heard, but the acting, done by a solid cast of players on a stage where anything can happen, including the entire house caving allowing all of the tableware in the dining room to fall and break ( the props people truly do a monumental job) and the special effects; lighting ( Rick Fisher), sound ( Sebastian Frost) and music (Stephen Warbeck) truly add to the impact of Daldry’s presentation.

The cast of main characters are: Christine Kavanagh, Jeff Harmer, Lianne Harvey, Hamish Riddle, Andrew Macklin,  Diana Payne-Myers ( who is in her 90’s and moves about the stage with great ease, almost as if dancing) is Edna, their housekeeper . The ensemble is composed of Chris Barritt, Beth Tuckey, Chloe Obrock, Adam Collier, Sophie Kaegi and Trent A. Davis. The fight director for this production is Terry King.

“An Inspector Calls” is here for a short time and while it will not appeal to everyone, if you are a mystery buff, you will find yourself getting caught up in this story, or joke, or both! You only have until March 10th to do so with a performance schedule that is:

Price: $46-$88

Stage: The Yard

Show Type: Drama with some comical moments

Box Office: 312-595-5600

www.chicagoshakes.com

There is discounted parking. Make sure you bring your ticket to the theater for validation BEFORE using the pay boxes by the doors.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “An Inspector Calls”.