On 28 November, Year 10 and Year 11 travelled to Aylesbury to see a production of one of their GCSE English Literature texts, An Inspector Calls.
Year 11 have also been working on ‘transactional writing’ for their IGCSE English Language exam, and we took the opportunity to explore theatre reviews. Here is one enjoyable piece that employs a light-hearted tone, insightful comments on the performance choices, puns based on literary references to the play, and also describes the wider theatre experience for their intended reader (St Helen’s students and parents – who seemingly always most want to know about the food). We hope you enjoy reading it as much as Yordana (Y11) clearly enjoyed writing it.
‘Alone, friendless, almost penniless’: this is how my bank account felt after An Inspector Calls
Stephan Daldry captivated the audience as the curtain rose to reveal a 1912 upper-class house surrounded by desolate pre-World War One streets. The juxtaposition of warm lighting radiating through the Birling house against the cold, wet brick streets had the audience in awe.
But not the HelKats.
All they could focus on was their buckets of popcorn, Cadbury Buttons, and strawberry laces burning a hole in their pockets. The ridiculous bounties placed on these treats was astounding. All I can say is the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre definitely wasn’t ‘keeping labour costs down’.
These privileged HelKats emulate Priestley’s message of living in a consumerist capitalist society and becoming blinded to larger issues outside of their own popcorn-filled bubbles. The irony of this scene is almost laughable; however, after letting go of their ‘almost penniless’ bank accounts, the HelKats could finally focus.
The main things that struck me were the use of the character of Edna throughout the performance, combined with the representation of the working class. Daldry contrasts Priestely by giving Edna relevance and utilising her as a bridge who interacts with both upper, capitalist class (the Birlings) and lower, socialist class (the Inspector). This different take allows Edna to be of value as she has been present in all moments, before, after and during the events of the play. From this perspective, it would be interesting to have given her more lines to express her silenced views. Her character then being combined with the mass of working class characters on stage strengthened her image as a character with more power than we may have assumed.
Although the HelKats may have been led astray by Daldry’s confusing theatrical choices at times, they left as Priestley knew they would have a century ago: ‘almost penniless’, enticed by consumerist society.
Yordana (Y11)
