Having worked with director Charlotte Peters several times, Tim Treloar was delighted to be involved in this ‘wonderful production, which is a great introduction to theatre – especially for young people.’ It is clear that Treloar buys into what both Priestley and Daldry wanted to achieve, namely, as Daldry puts it, ‘trying to create a social debate.’ This sentiment is echoed by Treloar: ‘Class is one of our long-standing inequalities and I think An Inspector Calls has a brilliant message. It shows that our interactions with other people can have a profound affect on them.’ This idea that the treatment of each other matters transcends decades, whether this be Sheila Birling's jealous outburst towards Eva Smith in Milwards, the department store, or how people treat those in the service industry today, for example. As Treloar says, ‘It's about trying to be kind and respectful and taking responsibility for those who are less fortunate than ourselves.’
A conversation over time zones
Although Priestly wrote the play in 1945, he set it in 1912 and Daldry's production opened in 1992. The original idea was to have ‘a conversation between three time zones’. There is no getting away from the left-leaning socialist undertones of the play, which led to members of the Conservative party to complain about the content of a hugely popular ‘Postscript’ radio broadcast that was heard by nearly half the adult population of Britain at the time.
‘Priestley was writing An Inspector Calls in 1944–45. There was a Labour government almost inevitably coming in, but the conversation in 1945 – about what kind of society we wanted after the war, what is Britain, what sort of society do we want to be a part of now – was very current and very important for JB, who himself was an MP. He stood for the Common Wealth Party; essentially a socialist independent,’ explained Daldry in a press statement, ‘When we first performed it, it was very much in the world of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, and Thatcher herself was saying “there's no such thing as society, there are only men and women and families”, and so this was, in a sense, a broadside against that mentality and against that Edwardian idea. That conversation feels as current today as it did when we first did the play in 1992, and indeed, when JB first wrote the play in the great Labour landslide of 1945.’
Approaching the role of Inspector Goole
For Treloar, it was important that The Inspector did not come across as ‘too preachy’. Peters wanted the character to represent Treloar himself, suggesting that the character should be evoked ‘as though you've just arrived at this place and you're seeking justice or you're seeking to create a narrative for these people.’ Treloar therefore aimed to present a character who ‘knows what he wants from this encounter with this family.’
It was also important for the character to differ from the Birlings, who are upper-middle class, with a more ‘provincial’ character making use of a Welsh accent, to ‘make the lines sound relevant to a modern audience.’ One of the contentions with Inspector Goole is where he comes from: is he a time-traveller, a ghost-like figure, a mouthpiece for Priestley's views – or all of the above? In this production, Treloar likes to think of him coming ‘back in time in order to get this family to face responsibility’, dressed in a demob suit as though arriving from the end of the Second World War. Treloar believes that the Inspector has arrived in the world of 1912 when the play is set in the hope that ‘somehow, if that message was carried across the world there wouldn't have been a First World War or a Second World War, where millions of ordinary people lost their lives.’
Updating the text
Despite much of Daldry's production staying true to the text and to Priestley's aims, Treloar reveals some slight adjustments to the script, such as in the Inspector's famous final speech. The line ‘we are members of one body’ becomes ‘we are members of one society’, providing a contrasting opinion to Margaret Thatcher's views on the idea of a ‘society’ existing. The line ‘If men will not learn that lesson’ becomes ‘If we will not learn that lesson’, which Treloar believes makes the message more present and immediate for an audience today.
Actor focus
Tim Treloar's theatre credits include Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet, all at the RSC, Henry V at the National Theatre, and King Lear and Twelfth Night at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Tim also appeared alongside Patrick Stewart in Macbeth at the Chichester Festival Theatre, and when it later transferred to the West End and then Broadway. Tim has performed across many television programmes including regular appearances in Midsummer Murders and Doctors, as well as voicing the third Doctor in the Doctor Who audio series.
Exploring more
File on Four, ‘Whatever Happened to JB Priestley?’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001lych
Stuart Maconie's excellent programme that explores Priestley's writing, including clips from his famous Wartime ‘Postscript’ radio broadcasts.
BBC Bitesize
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zpr639q
An old favourite – there is wealth of useful support here including quizzes, activities and exam board specific information, which are all very student-friendly.
Drama and Theatre Scheme of Work
https://www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk/content/schemes-of-work/an-inspector-calls-by-j-b-priestley
For those subscribers to Drama and Theatre, Karen Hart's excellent Scheme of Work aimed at KS4 is a super ready-made school resource that can help enrich sequences of lessons already being taught.
An Inspector Calls tour
The tour dates, ticket booking and other useful resources such as cast, creatives and a free downloadable teacher's PDF resource pack can be found at aninspectorcalls.com