Review: PTC’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ puts a contemporary spin on the classic detective story

The sets of two current productions do striking jobs of inducting us into the worlds of their plays before a single line is spoken. The first is the blue-collar urban neighborhood Dennis Hassan creates for SLAC's production of "Streetlight Woodpecker," which I complimented in that review. Hard on its heels comes Jason Simms' set for "An Inspector Calls," which just opened at Pioneer Theatre Company; it instantly encapsulates the rigid class structure that divides the Edwardian English society of that play.

Five young seamstresses sit doing piecework on a platform above the stage. Below them is an elegant dining room where the factory owner's upper-middle-class family is about to celebrate a special dinner. It looks like "Upstairs, Downstairs" reversed. To intensify the image, a metal frame encloses the stage, forming a box that locks everyone into position.

But something is about to happen that abruptly immerses this oblivious family in this lower-class world. An inspector interrupts their dinner to report that a desperate young woman has killed herself and he intends to prove that at least one of the Birlings or Gerald, daughter Sheila's new fiancé, bears some responsibility for the death. By the end of the play, the inspector has managed to implicate all of them. As Sheila observes, "We're not the same people who sat down to dinner."

"An Inspector Calls" is an intriguing dramatic hybrid. It uses the surface structure of a detective/whodunit to ask prickly questions about personal responsibility. When we make choices, are we willing to accept the consequences, especially when they affect the more vulnerable members of society? The play's moral scale ranges from the father, Arthur, who believes, "A man has to look after himself; we can't be responsible for everyone else," to the inspector, who states, "We don't live alone. We are responsible for each other. If people will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish."

Then two sudden plot twists propel the play in a new direction and make us question even the reality of what we've just seen. Although J. B. Priestley wrote the play in 1945, it suggests the chaotic modern world.

With the help of Mary Robinson's taut-as-wire direction, the actors make an emotional journey from defensive denial to acceptance or rejection of their characters' involvement in Eva Smith's death. Joseph Dellger's Arthur adamantly and self-righteously asserts he has done nothing wrong. As Gerald, John Skelley admits he took advantage of the situation but points out he was often helpful and kind. Least sympathetic is Mia Dillon's Sybil, the mother, whose snobbish language betrays her superior attitude; when she finally has to confront the truth, she is shattered.

Most empathetic with Eva are Katie Wieland's Sheila and John Evans Reese as her brother, Eric. Reese moves from spoiled self-indulgence to genuine contrition as Eric, and Wieland's Sheila becomes the moral barometer of the play. Christopher Kelly's Inspector Goole is unrelenting in pursuing the truth of what happened.

Phil Monat's muted, atmospheric lighting creates liquid pools of light that are dark around the edges, and Carol Wells-Day's sophisticated period costumes capture the artificial glamour of upper-class Edwardian England.

Although "An Inspector Calls" has some preachy moments, it moves beyond its period roots to pose some penetrating and pertinent questions about our contemporary "me-first" society. As poet John Donne said, "No man is an island, entire of itself; … any man's death diminishes me. … Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." Continually failing to learn that puts us all in jeopardy.

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'An Inspector Calls'

Tight, suspenseful direction and perceptive performances give PTC's "An Inspector Calls" an uncomfortably modern feeling.

When • Reviewed Feb. 19; plays Mondays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m., through March 5

Where • Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. University St., Salt Lake City

Tickets • $25 to $44 in advance ($5 more day of show); half price for students K–12 on Mondays and Tuesdays; 801-581-6961 or pioneertheatre.org

Running time • One hour and 40 minutes (no intermission)