Essay Examples - Drama Essays
With reference to 'An Inspector Calls' touring Britain with Roper:
- (a) describe how the set design and its use contributed to the production
- (b) Other aspects added to the success of the production.
The great imaginative leap that Daldry makes in his enthralling, rigorously intelligent expressionistic production is to stage the action simultaneously in two different time zones
Introduction: Undoubtedly a well written production, and one that draws in the audience with its compelling characters, mysterious storylines, and chilling twists, 'An Inspector Calls' avoids the use of minimalist set and seems to go all out to make the performance as dramatic and visually entertaining as it can for its viewers.
Set amongst a backdrop of swirling smoke, pounding atmospheric music and lashing rain, the action unfolds within a small (yet portrayed as large) Edwardian house that has been shouldered into a wartime setting. Children play in piles of blackened rubble beneath it whilst an old maid servant potters about silently. 'Inside it's 1912; outside it's 1945' and the two later begin to awkwardly converge with the arrival of the mysterious inspector.
The Set
Set Period: The play is bizarrely set into two time zones; the lush atmosphere of Edwardian upper class enjoying a celebratory meal within a warm looking inner sanctum of their home on stage, whilst, announced by the heralding of an air raid siren, children play in a blitz style rubble strewn stage below the family.
Distinctly making a point about class, the family do not move from their raised platform until they are questioned by the mysterious inspector later on in the play, and the 'in and out groupings' are verified by the fact that at no point do the Berlings ever actually acknowledge their servant or the children who run and then seem to slump in the mess that lays beneath them.
This interesting idea of setting not only enables the play to operate in an appealing 'inside or outside' society motif but also opens ones mind to a prism of interesting ideas that the play is going to impart.
Skipping over two timezones so subtly, really allows one to see the 'selfishness that the Berlings show' in terms of Britain's most needy time, emphasising exactly the socialist leanings that Priestly wishes to display.
Location: The entire play is set in Bromley, the largest London borough located in the South East of the capital, and the magnificent house/rubble backdrop does not shift throughout the whole performance. However, the set is very flexible, which offers the audience a greater variety in the stage adding to their enjoyment immensely, with shifting stairs and walls that can open out or close to reveal or hide the action within the house.
Outside action is permitted through the use of the telephone booth that stands nearby, which is interestingly tall to offer an element of perspective on the Edwardian House, but the 'inspector' and group of workers all descend onto this scene to meet the rich family.
Brooding Atmosphere
Atmosphere and Colour - The brooding mystery and overbearing feeling of sadness which categorises the majority of this performance is proffered immediately within the set design. Opening to a curtain of lashing rain hammering down from a brooding, cloudy sky, the palette of colours used to set the scene are very moribund. Blackened rubble lies amongst the darkness, while a bomb damaged and faded telephone booth moodily infests the corner of the stage beneath a dim, flickering lamppost.
The only other piece of scenery immediately noticeable on the ground is an old 1940s style radio. Meanwhile, while the children play silently in amongst the wet street, and the Berlings housekeeper throws out slops amongst them, lights and laughter can be heard from within the house, the geniality and warm, homely glow a great juxta position of scenarios.
Indeed, when the house is opened to the audience, this is only emphasised further. Pictures and a large Grandfather clock are painted on the striking green walls, and a dining room table laden with after dinner drinks. It is the main source of light on the stage, other than when the Inspector is lit up spookily with a spotlight, and is clearly once again an allusion to Priestlys views on class and its glut of plenty even within a desperate situation.
Intensity of other sorts - Costume etc.
Costume - Like the overall stage show, costume is also very straight-edged within the show, with only one real shock of any colour to speak of. Almost all the Edwardian elite from the house wear a stark selection of black or white (or both) in the form of pinstripe suits or dresses, while the workers who appear late on, the maid and children wear a selection of ragged, bland browns and dark greens.
Indeed, this is in fitting with the overall tone of the play, and helps very much to compare the opulence with poverty (that of the difference between smart suits and rags) whilst still keeping the dark nature of the piece alive.
However, the one exception, and the character who is dressed in a very rich looking satin scarlet dress is 'Mrs Birling, for whom the word "impertinence" is an essential piece of vocabulary, [she is the inspectors] perfect foil.' Absolutely the pinnacle of rich, upper class Edwardian life, she blusters about, typifying the morals and ideals of such folk and tries to blame everyone but her family.
Not listening to the advice of her daughter she goes on arguing with the inspector until she has revealed all her secrets, her dress a symbol of the powerful, pig headed ignorance she selfishly displays.
Lighting & Sound - The sound within this performance is easy to analyse. Very dramatic! Sirens, crashes, bangs and loud fanfares herald arrivals, action and setting, the audience is treated to a cacophony of noise as an excellent device to uphold suspense and keep them on the edge of their seats. It very much brings to life the sullen background of the stage show and intensity of the drama unfolding on stage. As already discussed partially, the dim lighting also adds to this.
Flickering bulbs light up the destruction leaving the bastion of upper class as the only true shining beacon (of greed) on the stage, until the inspector arrives and is propelled into the spotlight. Indeed, the stage lighting really does not change much either; it is mainly small sidelit spots on display throughout the show contributing to its dismal feeling.
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Overall style and dramatic intentions - Conclusion
So overall, 'An Inspector Calls' can be said to make great use of its set design and really utilise the dramatic gloom, charged atmosphere and interesting use of perspective it uses, to highlight the evident contradictions in plain view amidst the play. Firstly, with the wonderful house that is set up in the middle of the set that takes the centre of the eyeline and houses all the outmoded Edwardian ideas that Priestly envisions has blighted our society, and secondly with the interesting device of scattering war torn rubble amongst the houses.
The dramatic intention of this play is certainly to provoke audience reaction and indeed, the mood one picks up from the sheets of rain, dim lighting and general air of unspoken animosity between the 'Toffs and the servants' festers within the bleak setting and overcast cloudy sky. Of course, other elements too, such as the ear splitting roar of the sound effects, smashing of glass as the table falls from the house, and the excellence of the actors themselves, all add up to a very memorable production.
This play is intended to shock and make people think, and it is the thought behind the intricate styles of setting, backdrop and dramatic devices, that makes it so powerful!
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