Preview: An Inspector Calls at Newcastle Theatre Royal

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CLASSIC THRILLER RETURNS TO NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL

An Inspector Calls

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 9^th – Saturday 13^th February 2016

A night of intrigue is on the cards for audiences at Newcastle Theatre Royal as the multi award-winning production of J.B Priestley’s An Inspector Calls returns from Tuesday 9^th – Saturday 13^th February 2016.

A National Theatre production and winner of 19 major international awards, Stephen Daldry’s legendary production of the classic thriller stars Liam Brennan (Inspector Goole), Caroline Wildi (Mrs Birling), Tim Woodward (Mr Birling), Matthew Douglas (Gerald Croft), Katherine Jack (Sheila Birling), Hamish Riddle (Eric Birling) and Diana Payne Myers (Edna).

Photo: Mark Douet 

This tour marks 70 years since An Inspector Calls first premiered, in Moscow in 1945. Written at the end of the Second World War and set before the First World War, J.B Priestley’s play is a compelling and haunting thriller. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family home. 

Photo: Mark Douet 

Their peaceful dinner party is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman whom each of them in turn has exploited. His startling revelations not only shatter the very foundations of their lives but challenge us all to examine our consciences. Daldry’s visionary production unites the 1912 setting with the time it was written in 1945, transferring the play to a dramatic cobblestone war-torn wasteland, where the Edwardian Birling family home looms precariously, suspended on stilts.

Photo: Mark Douet 

Featuring Ian MacNeil’s ingenious designs, a sweeping score by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love) and atmospheric lighting by Rick Fisher, the production has received an unprecedented string of awards, including the Olivier Award for Best Revival, Best Director and Best Designer and the Tony Award on Broadway for Best Revival, Best Director and Best Lighting.

Photo: Mark Douet 

Director Stephen Daldry has received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and/or Best Picture for his films The Reader (starring Kate Winslett, Ralph Fiennes), The Hours (starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore), Billy Elliot (starring Jamie Bell) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock). He won his first major directorial success in 1992 when his visionary revival of J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls opened at the National Theatre to outstanding critical acclaim.

Photo: Mark Douet 

Daldry’s recent West End theatre work includes a revival of David Hare’s Skylight starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan at the Wyndham’s Theatre and Peter Morgan’s The Audience, originally starring Helen Mirren at the Gielgud Theatre and currently starring Kristen Scott Thomas at the Apollo Theatre. His multi award-winning production of Billy Elliot The Musical is now enjoying its 10^th year at the Victoria Palace.

Photo: Mark Douet 

The longest running play revival in history, Stephen Daldry’s An Inspector Calls has played in the West End (including a 6-year run), on Broadway, across Australia, the United States, Japan and Europe and has currently completed seven major UK tours. The production returned to the West End in 2010, winning a host of 5-star reviews and enjoying sell-out performances at the Novello Theatre before transferring to the Wyndham’s for an extended run. Widely renowned as the theatrical event of our generation, this production has now been seen by an excess of three million theatregoers worldwide.

Photo: Mark Douet 

The National Theatre Production of An Inspector Calls is produced on tour by PW Productions Ltd. Directed by Stephen Daldry, Designed by Ian MacNeil, with Music by Stephen Warbeck, Lighting by Rick Fisher, Associate Director Julian Webber.

Tickets:

An Inspector Calls is at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 9^th to Saturday 13^th February 2016, playing evenings at 7.30pm, matinees Wed and Thu at 2pm and Sat 2.30pm. Tickets from £14.50 (save 50p per ticket online). Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk.