As a master craftsman J.B. Priestley never ceases to astonish. This play was penned when the playwright was well into his time continuum theses in the theatre, and it can still startle an audience to whom some of the plot twists must by this time appear more obvious than to the characters in the play. One could argue that, for today, it’s too pat and simplistic, but to do so would be to miss the important fact that this is a moral play, with a message that stands good for all time: our actions and attitudes profoundly affect not only those close to us, but, like ripples in a pool, stretch out ad infinitum.

In an industrial town in the Midlands in 1912, a self-satisfied, well-to-do middle-class family sit down to dinner to celebrate the daughter’s engagement. Father was once mayor and looks forward to an imminent inclusion in the Honours List, Mother is busy with charitable works and they all assume that God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world. But the Inspector, calling with news of the suicide of a young girl, throws the spanner into their well-oiled works. This scene makes excellent theatre and the cast, under the taut direction of Ted Craig, never out a foot wrong.

Alfred Marks is ideal casting for the Inspector whose matter-of-factness admirably masks motives. His subtle acting works admirably for the balance of the play. Peter Vaughan and Adrienne Corrie achieve just the right veneer to cover the monstrous people the older Birlings really are, though she looks young enough to be playing the daughter,  Sheila. Julie Dawn Cole, Paul Cooper and Christopher Blake are all to be commended in this fascinating revival.