‘What do you think, Gerald? You’re a man, aren’t you?’ the delusional Mrs Birling addresses her future son-in-law, and Bill Blake loses his cool as everyone on stage break out in giggles. ‘I’m not going to look at you when you say that,’ Bill laughs, trying to get back into his role as Gerald, and Linda Law picks up her lines again for a re-take. Five weeks into rehearsals for their upcoming show, An Inspector Calls, the small cast of amateur thespians at Brighton College are breathing life into J.B. Priestley’s classic play, and having a great deal of fun in the process.
Requiring only a small cast, An Inspector Calls is ideal for the very first performance of the Brighton College Players. This is a community dramatic society which formed early in January when a handfull of teachers and some parents of students at the school got together over a mutual interest in drama.
‘It’s also been a means for everyone to exercise their own personal talents and interests,’ says Ed Cousens, who is director of drama at the college and playing the mysterious Inspector. But not everyone on board is as experienced as he. Bill Blake is a history teacher, and though it’s his first time acting, his Gerald is a very convincing Gerald indeed.
It’s a similar story with the other members of the colourful cast and crew. The motley group has a Brighton College parent, Catherine Clark, on board to source costumes for the show, while a year 9 student, Jack Pierce, is acting as lighting technician. Combine all this fresh enthusiasm with excellent theatre facilities to stage their work, and we have no doubt that great things will be coming our way from their general direction in the very near future.
We asked whether the Brighton College Players society is open to prospective recruits and the answer was in the affirmative. ‘We are an am-dram society that is open to any members who are interested,’ said Bill. ‘Which makes us quite a unique club, as far as we’re aware!’
But let us concentrate on the upcoming performance, for which we caught up with the cast and crew. Head of English, Kerry Coburn has worked on plays in the past, some of which were put on by Brighton College students (you may recall their rendition of Shakespeare’s Macbeth last year). But this is Kerry’s first time in the director’s chair, and she’s full of ideas. ‘Initially, I was really excited by plans to adapt the play into a modern setting,’ she said. ‘But we decided to keep an Edwardian theme; the tension and drama are engaging enough in their authentic setting.’ This may have been a good call (in terms of cushioning the impact) considering how weighty the play’s subject matter is.
Being a strong critique of the out-dated social attitudes of pre-war Britain, Priestley’s An Inspector Calls was initially considered too extreme for post-war London’s fragile social peace. Consequently, it was first performed in Russia, and only took to the British stage a whole year after its conception. As with all great art, its message is timeless and hard hitting. You may never have seen it, or you may have read and seen it a zillion times, but Priestley’s words will unsettle you still. In the end it will matter not that the Birling family are clad in traditional Edwardian garb, or that they speak with snooty English accents. Their ugly little hearts exposed never fail to reflect so strongly on a human nature, which apparently remains consistent through the ages.
‘The story is placed in 1912.’ Bill pointed out. ‘So the Brighton College Players will be performing this work a full century after it was set. We hope this will allow the audience to appreciate exactly how much has changed in one hundred years, and how much hasn’t.’ We can hardly wait.
J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls will be performed on May 17 from 7.30pm at the Brighton College Theatre. Tickets are Dhs30, email bcp.box.office@gmail.com (02 815 6500).
