"Don't wait till 'An Inspector Calls' to see this show"

By Brian Wilford
Cowichan Valley Citizen

An Inspector Calls may be the best piece of dramatic theatre the Chemainus Theatre Festival has every produced, certainly one of the best.

Artistic Director Jeremy Tow is marking his tenth anniversary at CTF with an outstanding example of the high standards of craftsmanship which have elevated this company to the top rungs of the theatre world.

Playwright J.B. Priestley's work has lived on with influence for a reason and this taut, riveting mix of murder-mystery and scorching social commentary is no exception.

I actually had to ask at intermission whether Part One was shorter than usual or if the time had just flown past. It was the latter.

The set, the first built in the CTF's new production centre, the sound, the light and the period Edwardian costumes are all up to snuff but make no mistake: this production is all about fabulous acting.

There are four family members, a boyfriend, the inspector and, for want of a better word, a ghost. With the exception of the apparition, they're all onstage for long stretches, some of them for pretty much the entire play, so they'd better be good.

Tow made the right call in tracking down three veterans of the stage - Bernard Cuffling, John B. Lowe, and Donna Carroll White - to make the production sing.

It's a tribute to Tow and the CTF that this calibre of actor is now willing to come here to perform.

Cuffling is mesmerizing as Inspector Goole: quirky, tough, insightful, probably crazy, obviously brilliant. In any other production he would simply overpower the other characters but that can't happen here.

Lowe is equally masterful as the Kiplingesque father Arthur Birling, man of business, man of empire. His bizarre self-confidence comes unwound in a performance reminiscent of Anthony Hopkins.

White, as wife Sybil Birling, is the backbone of the Birling family and portrays the unassailable, born-to-rule aristocracy to perfection.

Julius Chapple, the boyfriend Gerald Croft, is convincing as the next generation of men of business, and Samantha Madely, as fiancé Sheila Birling, provides an effective touch of vulnerability and sensitivity in a family which regards such characteristics as weakness.

David Snider, as son Eric Birling, wonderfully portrays a classic British fop: arrogant, weak, drunk, pitiful but somehow still sympathetically human. This may be his best work yet.

What is truly amazing is that there is no sense of actors acting. The audience is caught up in the characters and the drama from the get-go and remains within their grasp until the twisted end. The audience rose as one at the end in sincere appreciation.

If you're counting your entertainment pennies carefully, spend them on this one. You won't be disappointed.

An Inspector Calls runs at the Chemainus Theatre Festival until Nov. 12. A gourmet buffet dinner is available in the Playbill Dining Room before each performance.