Precise acting holds to realism

9:42am Friday 25th January 2008

An Inspector Calls is often portrayed merely as socialist polemic but Richmond Shakespeare Society's current production takes a deeper look at J.B Priestley's best-known play.

With director Rodney Figaro's signature attention to detail, and the help of co-designer Stephen King, the set opens up the Mary Wallace Theatre's small stage as an opulent post-Edwardian mansion, the home of prosperous magnate Arthur Birling.

The over-neat symmetry, although making a statement, does cause problems with the placing of actors. But, as the plot unfolds, the walls gradually disappear to expose the town's back-to-back houses - the reality on which Birling's fortunes are built.

Smug among the parlour palms, the Birlings celebrate the engagement of Sheila, the daughter of the family, into the landed gentry, when their party is interrupted by a visit from an Inspector Goole, who is investigating the suicide of a destitute young woman.

Under his questioning, there follows a moralistic striptease of their emotions, revealing their contributions towards her death.

Derek Stringer takes the part of Goole with great stage presence. Aptly lugubrious and cadaverous, his performance stays nicely short of caricature as he elicits the collective voice of their conscience.

Keith Atkinson brings out the municipal pomposity of Birling, striving to avoid scandal. Stella Gheury de Bray's precise portrayal of his snobbishly unrepentant wife Sybil complements Elizabeth Madgwick's conscience-torn Sheila.

Martin Elswood plays her troubled brother, Eric, belatedly stricken by his scruples, and Jonathan Dunn her well-connected suitor, Gerald Croft, with mutually balanced characterisation. The cast works as an ensemble but could be better paced.

While giving a nod to expressionist interpretations, the production wisely holds fast to the realism of this humanitarian classic.

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