English dramatist JB Priestley's famous thriller An Inspector Calls is set to be staged in Malta next month by local long-running theatre company MADC.
As one of Priestley's best-known plays, An Inspector Calls has been hailed as a classic of mid-20th century English theatre. Since its first performance in 1946 in the UK, the play has epitomised classic "drawing room" theatre and become a key part of the British school curriculum for its scathing criticism of the hypocrisies of Victorian and Edwardian English society.
Centred around the prosperous upper middle-class Birling family, the play takes place on a single night in April 1912 in the fictional town of Brumley. When Inspector Goole visits to question the family about the suicide of a working-class woman, it becomes clear that all is not what it first appears.
MADC's production of this renowned play will feature a stellar local cast of performers including Edward Thorpe as Arthur Birling, Isabel Warrington as Sybil Birling, Roberta Cefai as Sheila Birling, Edward Caruana Galizia as Eric Birling, Gianni Selvaggi as Gerald Croft, Samantha Gauci as Edna and John Marinelli as Inspector Goole.
Directing the cast will be Michael Mangion, who is best known for his varied stage roles - from the dramatic The Crucible to the hilarious Dame Lady Frakassat in MADC's latest panto Jack and the Beanstalk, and for his directorial work including the highly-acclaimed Shirley Valentine, The Pride and Venus in Fur, the latter being nominated for Best Production of the Year at the first Malta Arts Awards 2018.
"MADC is delighted to be bringing An Inspector Calls to the stage at the Blue Box this year," says MADC artistic director Marylu Coppini. "Our wonderful cast and crew are once again rising to the challenge of recreating this world-famous piece and to creating a production that promises to be a faithful-yet-fresh adaptation of a thrilling, classic tale."
MADC's production of JB Priestley's An Inspector Calls will be performed at Blue Box Theatre - M Space, Msida - opposite Junior College (ex Polytechnic) on 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 March with all performances starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at €15 and €20 and are available online at www.bluebox.com.mt or by calling the Ticket Hotline on +356 7979 3737. It is recommended that audience members are aged 12 or above.