An Inspector Calls - performed September 1998

By J B Priestley Performed with the kind permission of Samuel French Ltd - London Director - Kerry King Cast Inspector Goole Nigel Rowe Sybil Birling Kerry King Arthur Birling Martin Rayner Gerald Croft Adrian Bolton Sheila Birling Jessica Boulton Eric Birling Graham Boulton Edna Crystal Wuyts Production Team Thelma Rayment, Chris Bush, Liz Wilson, Bruce Emeny, Maurice Barber, Nigel Lister, Roger Licence, Terry Cousins, Kerry King, Jessica Boulton, Lyn Weatherill, Rene Hacon, Steve Sadler, Marianne Heywood, Yvonne Cobbold, Patience Ling, Viv Wheatley, Jane Cousins, Jo Simmons. The Play An Inspector Calls was first performed in Moscow in 1945. Currently it is an award winning production at the Garrick Theatre, London. The comfortable facade of a middle class family is shaken when an Inspector Calls to inform them of the death of a girl. Their thoughts and feelings are revealed as the Inspector explores each of their experiences and inner secrets. Conflicts and moral dilemmas disturb the family's equilibrium caused by the Inspectors questioning and then he goes....... Reviews EACH time I see a performance at the Manifest Theatre I come away thinking the group cannot get any better. Often I’m proved wrong and the latest offering – J. B. Priestley’s classic thriller, An Inspector Calls – was certainly one of those occasions. The whole cast was absolutely superb for although it was the writer who created such an interesting play, it was the acting skills which kept the audience enthralled from beginning to end. Only the heat in the theatre had anyone wishing for an early end to such an absorbing storyline. The six main characters were on stage for most of the two-hour production. They all gave outstanding performances and one wonder if Manningtree really appreciates what a gem it has in this talented and enthusiastic group. This is the first full-length play directed by the group’s new resident producer, Kerry King, who also played a leading role, so was doubly busy, But for me, if pressed to name the best performers, I would have to opt for Nigel Rowe – can this really be the same person who plays comic roles in pantomime? – and Jessica Boulton. Only two small criticisms – smoking is banned in the auditorium and the smell of a cigar smoked on stage lingered too long and a badly-place chair meant that for the first 10 minutes of so, at least one actor was blocked from the audience’s view. Lesley Pallett Photo Shoot If you have any photos from this production, then please let us know. Back