An English 'Inspector' in Search of Subtlety 

By Michael Toscano
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, April 24, 2003; Page VA01 

English writer J.B. Priestley (1894-1984) was really more propagandist than playwright, although in the United States he is remembered primarily for the dusty collection of plays he left behind for community theaters to haul out now and again. In fact, Priestley was an official propagandist during World War II, writing inspiring radio broadcasts for the BBC. But Priestley could not always keep his socialist views out of his work, drawing the ire of Tory Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

So, too, it is with his plays: literary excursions into upper-class British drawing rooms that expose the foibles of the comfortable and smug. "An Inspector Calls" is perhaps the most famous of his thinly veiled polemics, now presented in a competent production from Dominion Stage.

"An Inspector Calls" is not exactly a whodunit, although it is written in that classic style. Weaving in stolen money, illicit trysts, class snobbery, corporate greed and lies, the story examines a well-to-do family's involvement in an impoverished young woman's suicide in northern England, circa 1912. Enigmatic Inspector Goole interrupts the contented Birlings at a celebratory dinner party and proceeds to probe their lives until it is clear each one has played an important, though unrelated, role in driving the young woman to her death. But, where, exactly, is the crime? And is there a criminal? Goole seems to already have all the answers so one is left wondering exactly where Priestley is heading. 

That's the key, as audience members try to predict the outcome, entertaining themselves during an exposition-crammed and talky acts one and two, where characters take turns relating their involvement with the dead woman. The emotional and dramatic payoff comes in the third act, but to say more would diminish the impact. It's only after the curtain is down does it sink in that Priestley has pulled off a double twist, providing a climax that is positively chilling -- until one considers it with the lights up and realizes it is a trick and that there is much less there than seems to be meeting the eye. 

Priestley's political message may be laudable, but he is so heavy handed that it doesn't always make for great drama. "We're respectable citizens, not criminals," protests the son and heir to the Birling fortune, as Goole begins his inquiries. "Sometimes I wouldn't know where to draw the line," the inspector coolly responds.  "There's not as much difference as you might think." Well, that's subtle.

Director Roland Branford Gomez keeps the pacing as brisk as is possible during the first two turgid acts, aided enormously by the fine performance of Philip Baedecker as the inspector. Baedecker avoids what may be the most common and unnecessary mistake in community theater, which is trying to speak with an English accent for an entire evening. Instead, he lightly brushes his dialogue with just the slightest hint of middle-class Yorkshire inflection and focuses his energies instead on a cold and relentless grilling of the household. As squire Arthur Birling, Frederic Ashley is a worthy foe, blustery and exuding the arrogance of a man used to getting his way, while managing to sound properly British. Unfortunately, other cast members drag weak and shifting English accents through their scenes, undermining their focus on creating fully dimensional characters. 

Dominion brought in accomplished designer John Downing, and the result is a simple but visually striking mansion dining room set, with an abstract and gloomy backdrop adding to a general sense of foreboding. It might be nice, however, if somebody could manage to move the stilled hands on the prominent grandfather clock during scene changes. That is, unless Gomez is pulling a Priestley and hammering home a point about time standing still for these self-satisfied citizens.

"An Inspector Calls," presented by Dominion Stage, concludes this weekend at Theatre One of the Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St., Arlington.
Performances at 8, tonight through Saturday. For reservations, call 703-683-0502.

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