An Inspector Calls

Act One

ACT ONE 

The dining room is of a fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer. It has good solid furniture of the period. The general effect is substantial and heavily comfortable but not cosy and homelike. (if a realistic set is used, then it should be swung back, as it was in the production at the new theatre. By doing this, you can have the dining-table centre downstage during act one, when it is needed there, and then swinging back, can reveal the fireplace for act two, and then for act three can show a small table with a telephone on it, downstage of the fireplace; and by this time the dining-table and it chairs have moved well upstage. Producers who wish to avoid this tricky business, which involves two re-settings of the scene and some very accurate adjustments of the extra flats necessary would be well advised to dispense with an ordinary realistic set if only because the dining-table becomes a nuisance. The lighting should be pink and intimate until the INSPECTOR arrives and then it should be brighter and harder.) At the rise of the curtain, the four Birling's and Gerald are seated at the table, with Arthur Birling at one end, his wife at the other, Eric downstage and Sheila and Gerald seated upstage. EDNA, the parlourmaid, is just clearing the table, which has no cloth, of the dessert plates and champagne glasses, etc, and then replacing them with a decanter of port, cigar box and cigarettes. Port glasses are already on the table. All five are in evening dress of the period, the men in tails and white ties, not dinner-jackets. Arthur Birling is a heavy-looking, rather a portentous man in this middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in this speech. His wife is about fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior. Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited. Gerald croft is an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the well-bred young man-about-town. Eric is in his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive. At the moment they have all had a good dinner, are celebrating a special occasion, and are pleased with themselves. 

Arthur Birling: Giving us the port, Edna? That's right. (he pushes it towards Eric..) You ought to like this port, Gerald, as a matter of fact, Finchley told me it's exactly the same port your father gets from him.

Gerald: Then it'll be all right. The governor prides himself on being a good judge of port. I don't pretend to know much about it.

Sheila: (gaily, possessively) I should jolly well think not, Gerald, I'd hate you to know all about port – like one of these purple-faced old men.

Arthur Birling: here, I'm not a purple-faced old man.

Sheila Birling: no, not yet. But then you don't know all about port – do you?

Birling: (noticing that his wife has not taken any) Now then, Sybil, you must a take a little tonight. Special occasion, y'know, eh?

Sheila: Yes, go on, mummy. You must drink our health.

Mrs Birling : (smiling) Very well, then. Just a little, thank you. (to Edna, who is about to go, with tray.) all right, Edna. I'll ring from the drawing-room when we want coffee. Probably in about half an hour.

Edna: (going) Yes, ma'am. (Edna goes out. They now have all the glasses filled. Birling beams at them and clearly relaxes.)

Birling: Well, well – this is very nice. Very nice. Good dinner too, Sybil. Tell cook from me.

Gerald: (politely) Absolutely first class.

Mrs Birling: (reproachfully) Arthur, you're not supposed to say such things

Birling: Oh – come come – I'm treating Gerald like one of the family. And I'm sure he won't object.

Sheila: (with mocking aggressiveness) Go on, Gerald – just you object!