The play is a three-act drama which takes place on a single night in April 1912. The play focuses on the prosperous upper middle-class Birling family, who live in a fictional industrial town. The family is visited by a man calling himself Inspector Goole, who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman. The play acts as a scathing criticism of the hypocrisies of society and reflects Priestley's socialist political principles.
The family consists of Arthur Birling, his wife, Sybil, his daughter Sheila and his son Eric. They have been joined by Gerald Croft to celebrate his engagement to Sheila. As they finish their meal, Inspector Goole arrives, with news of young woman’s death by suicide. What follows is his questioning of everyone about their knowledge of the woman. It appears that each of them had a role in her suicide. As the Inspector leaves, questions are raised as to whether he really was an inspector, whether there had been only one woman, and whether she was in fact dead. But whether true or not, they had all had some negative interaction with a young woman.
Overall, it seems that only the two young people felt any remorse for how they had treated a young woman, with Gerald not concerned about how he treated a young woman, and the two parents only interested in avoiding the impact any scandal would have on their lives. There is an interesting twist at the very end of the play.
An interesting play highlighting the culture of the era and the blindness of the more affluent to the impacts of their actions on working class people.
The family consists of Arthur Birling, his wife, Sybil, his daughter Sheila and his son Eric. They have been joined by Gerald Croft to celebrate his engagement to Sheila. As they finish their meal, Inspector Goole arrives, with news of young woman’s death by suicide. What follows is his questioning of everyone about their knowledge of the woman. It appears that each of them had a role in her suicide. As the Inspector leaves, questions are raised as to whether he really was an inspector, whether there had been only one woman, and whether she was in fact dead. But whether true or not, they had all had some negative interaction with a young woman.
Overall, it seems that only the two young people felt any remorse for how they had treated a young woman, with Gerald not concerned about how he treated a young woman, and the two parents only interested in avoiding the impact any scandal would have on their lives. There is an interesting twist at the very end of the play.
An interesting play highlighting the culture of the era and the blindness of the more affluent to the impacts of their actions on working class people.
We have two one-act plays on December 6th - Five Freaks a Fiddling and Full Steam Ahead followed by coffee at the Benalla Art Gallery.
Joy Shirley
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