Being in An Inspector Calls

It’s not every day that you get a call to partake in a world famous stage production. So when I was asked to take part in an immersive piece of theatrical journalism at Norwich Theatre Royal I couldn’t wait to get stuck into it! Everything was kept very hush hush leading up to the big day in order to keep the suspense and surprise until show time; all I knew was that I would be on stage in form or another!

Upon arriving at the theatre I took myself to the stage soor (eek!) which made me feel very official and important and almost immediately was whisked off to wardrobe for costume fitting. I was given a navy blue cotton dress with a faux fur jacket and some old fashioned heels. At that point I discovered I would be taken back in time to 1945 and made to look like a local woman from that era. The hair and make-up (courtesy of an exceptionally cool lady named Sid) was the real highlight for me; I had no idea what a difference some rollers, a dash of hairspray and some eyebrow pencil could make. I was even given an awesome little beret to pop on the side of my head to really set the look off (and cover up the many holes in my ears as they weren’t big on piercings in the 1940’s!). The play is set in three time zones; 1912 for the bulk of the performance, the crowd of 1945 were there to represent the general public in ‘the future’ and finally 2015 when the inspector speaks to the audience directly.

Charlotte Peters, the resident director of the show, was absolutely inundated with applications from the fine people of Norwich, all very keen to feature as extras in the performance. I was fortunate enough to have a chat with her in the Green Room in between rehearsals to find out a bit more about my role. I asked Charlotte why the decision had been made to use members of the public to act as extras as opposed to professional stand in actors. She went on to explain that each show had included people from the respective city they had performed in; some people were amateur dramatists, and some had never been on stage before in their lives. The reason being that it added a natural, unrefined element to the performance as well as linking the show directly to the place it is being performed. The crowd was there to represent the opinion of the everyday working man and almost act as a moral conscience that quietly criticised the decisions and behaviours of the upper class. The group, as they clutched their bundles of clothes and blankets, were instructed to look very sombre and judgemental of the pompous ignorance of the Birling family.