All the world’s a stage

4.2 analysing drama

Learning objectives:
● To know the structure of a play review.
● To be able to write a play review.
● To understand the considerations a playwright must make.

pages 94-102
An inspector calls
An Inspector Calls is a play written by English dramatist J. B. Priestley, first
performed in 1945 in the Soviet Union and in 1946 in the UK. It is one of
Priestley's best known works for the stage, and is considered to be one of the
classics of mid-20th century English theatre.
The play is a three-act drama, which takes place on a single night in April 1912,
focusing on the prosperous upper middle-class Birling family, who live in a
comfortable home in the fictional town of Brumley, "an industrial city in the north
Midlands".The family is visited by a man calling himself Inspector Goole, who
questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman, Eva
Smith.
A play review requires:
Write your
own
review of
the play
An
Inspector
Calls by
filing in
the slides
below.
Introduction:
● What is the name of the author and the play?
● When was it written and when was it first performed?
● What is the historical/political context of the play?
● What genre is it?

The play is called “An Inspector Calls” and it was made by J B Priestley.

It was written in 1945. The play first performed also in 1945 in the Soviet Union
after WW2 is over.

It was set in April 1912 in the fictional, industrial town of Brumley.

This play is a drama mixed with detective mystery.

Plot summary:
● Who are the characters in the play?
● What happens in the first act?
● Make sure not to mention how the play ends.

Inspector Goole, Gerald, Edna, and the 4 members of the Birling family are in the
play.

In the first act of the play, Eva had committed suicide and Inspector Goole visits
the Birling family to reveal why she committed suicide.
Performance:
● Did the characters look, sound and act in keeping with their character?
● Whose acting did you most enjoy?
● What scenes can you remember from the play?

The characters looked appropriate for their roles and their voices were
commendable for their parts.

The enjoy the performance of Arthur Birling most.

Particularly, memorable is the phone call Arthur receives.

Design:
● What type of clothing were the characters wearing?
● What type of set design (background) was used?
● Do you think the set design suited the play?

They were dressed in period costumes.

The entire play was set inside the Birling mansion.

The set design suited the play well.

Reaction:
● Did you enjoy the play?
● What did you like about the play?
● What did you not like about the play?
● Who would like to see this play?

I found the play enjoyable.

As the play progresses one finds out more about the characters. This keeps one
interested in the play.

Generally, I dislike the quarrelling between the characters because I wanted the
story to carry on.

I think people who are interested in social drama set in the past will enjoy this play.
A new setting for An Inspector Calls
Luxembourg, Luxembourg City

A modern house

In the centre of the living room, there’s a small wooden table

Around the wooden table, there are some armchairs.

The lighting is gloomy

Modern furniture
Character changes
Change Eva Smith into a male character.

He could be a scientist working for Arthur Birling.

Mr. Birling owns a chemical agency.

Ivan and the Dogs by Hattie Naylor
Ivan and the Dogs is based on the extraordinary true story of Ivan Mishukov, who
walked out of his Moscow apartment at the age of four and spent two years living
on the city streets where he was adopted by a pack of wild dogs.

In the recession-ravaged city, the human world is dominated by deprivation and

violence. When social breakdown from extremes of impoverishment, cruelty and
selfishness starts to set in, a homeless child's only hope is to turn to feral dogs for
company, protection and warmth.

This spellbinding story of survival and need conjures the streets of Moscow in the
1990s through the eyes of a child. With innocence and fear, Ivan's perceptions of
the world are beautifully described, from the acute awareness of hunger and fear,
to the innocent understanding of chemical abuse in the 'empty eyes' of children
and the ridiculed 'Bombzi'.
Definitions of tricky words
Deprivation - the state of being deprived

Impoverishment - to make poor

Feral - wild

Spellbind - seems like a spell holding someone’s attention

Ridiculed - to make fun of

PLYMOUTH’S DRUM THEATRE HOSTS MOVING PLAY IVAN AND THE DOGS

Audiences of The Drum theatre in Plymouth are being invited to experience the very different real life
childhood of Ivan Mishukov. At four years of age, Ivan walked out of his Moscow apartment and spent the
following two years living on the streets where he was adopted by a pack of wild dogs.
We spoke to the show’s writer, Hattie Naylor, about how influences from her background, in painting,
mime and radio drama, equipped her to deal with the challenge of conveying Ivan’s story to a theatre
audience.
Hi Hattie, Ivan and the Dogs is not the first time that Ivan’s story has been presented on The Drum
stage. In October 2009, the NIE Company dealt with the same story in My Life with the Dogs. Are
you familiar with the piece?
Not really, no I’m afraid; I haven’t managed to see it yet but my understanding of the piece is that it’s very
physical theatre with members of the company playing dogs while one takes the role of Ivan. It’s very
different to the way in which I approached the story.
Was your approached determined more by your diverse background? Mime and radio
writing seems to provide you with quite a range of approaches that you could adopt –
allowing for either the physical or the textual depending on what you feel would work
best.
Definitely, when working on this story I kept going back in my mind to the story of Mowgli in
Kipling’s The Jungle Book and how that story worked because Kipling could provide us with
the narrative that was going on inside Mowgli’s head. It seemed to me that physical theatre
could only show you some aspects of Ivan’s life but couldn’t show you what that really meant
to him or how it affected him. This became particularly clear when considering the story for a
radio play. That genre only contains text and, if you really want to allow the audience inside,
a monologue can be the most effective means.
So this story is presented in the form of a monologue?
Yes, the play is spoken by Ivan to the audience. I felt the only way for us to understand what
the experience meant to Ivan was to put him in a position where he could tell us. So, actor
takes the part of Ivan later in his lifetime. Looking back on his time with the dogs and relating
to the audience how that shaped him. It seemed to me to be the only logical way to present
the audience with whole story.
And Plymouth and The Drum are providing the officially launch for the tour?
Yes I’m so excited about it. We’ve been working with an incredible composer and sound
designer to create a really filmic feel to the piece. The words will be really supplemented
through the music and also the stage itself. We’ve a wonderful set designer who’s come up
with really special ways of incorporating projections into the action to really make the story
come alive for the audience – particular those who are used to this type of medium.
So you feel the subject matter is something that will connect with a younger audience
of theatre goers?
I really do. Ivan’s crazy childhood gives us all a different way of looking at our own childhood
and it really connects the audience to their own experiences. It’s not been unusual up to now
to find members of the audience crying and I’m really touched that people are finding it that
relevant to their own lives. I can’t wait to see how it’s received by the Drum audience.

By Alan Butler, 247 Magazine (29 September 2010)

Questions
1. How many times has the story of Ivan Mishukov been staged at the Drum
Theatre?
Two times.

2. How does Hattie Naylor’s play differ to the NIE production of My Life with the
Dogs?
The NIE is a very physical theatre production with members of the company
playing dogs while in Hattie’s play one person is acting in the role of Ivan.

3. What problem did Hattie Naylor have to overcome in her version of Ivan’s story?
Physical theatre can only show you some aspects of Ivan’s life but can’t show you
what that really meant to him or how it affects him.
Questions
4. How did she solve the problem?
That genre only contains text and, if you really want to allow the audience inside, a
monologue can be the most effective means.
5. Explain in your own words what a monologue is. (Check in the dictionary and
slide 15 for help)

Monologue is a speech that you spoken by one person.

6. How has Hattie Naylor’s radio play been adapted for the stage? (Last 2 lines of
the first reply on slide 15)
That genre only contains text and, if you really want to allow the audience inside, a
monologue can be the most effective means.
7. How has Hattie Naylor’s own background helped her to convert a radio
monologue into a stage show?

She talks about the character named Mowgli in The Jungle Book made by
Rudyard Kipling
8. Read “Yes I’m so excited…” to “... this type of medium”. Explain in your own
words how the play has been made to be more like a film. (slide 16, first 2 lines)

The really filmic reel is made by the incredible composer and sound designer.
9. Why do you think audiences are so moved by the story of Ivan Mishukov?
(Slide 16, last paragraph)
Ivan’s crazy childhood gives us all a different way of looking at our own childhood and it
really connects the audience to their own experiences.
10. Why and in what ways, might younger audiences “connect with the subject
and/or performance of the play”? (Slide 16, last paragraph)
It’s not been unusual up to now to find members of the audience crying and I’m really
touched that people are finding it that relevant to their own lives.