Those who love rich dramatic period pieces such as “Downton Abbey” and compelling mystery thrillers such as “Clue” are in luck. Pioneer Theatre Company is bringing in just the right mix of both with the critically acclaimed “An Inspector Calls,” playing from Feb. 19 to March 5.
“An Inspector Calls,” written by J.B. Priestly, takes place at the turn of the 20th century in England and follows the story of a wealthy family that is meeting for a party, only to have it interrupted by a mysterious inspector investigating the death of a young woman from a lower social class. At first, no one in the family claims to know who the victim is, but as the evening progresses they start to realize they had a hand in the young woman’s death in ways they never imagined.
Mia Dillon, an actress who plays Sybil Biring, said the play deals with social issues in today’s society.
“In this country we have this ultra rich one percent and this underbelly of struggling people who are barely getting by,” Dillon said. “I think that’s what makes this play extremely relevant is the questions the Inspector poses.”
It’s this social commentary that gives this mystery thriller some depth. The narrative highlights the struggle people of lower social standing can face and the indifference to their plight by the affluent.
Mary Robinson, director of the play, said this is something that has stayed the same over the years.
“Unfortunately, that’s a story that’s never going to date,” Robinson said. “I think that is something we can always examine in ourselves, so I think this play is more relevant than ever.”
The social themes are just one aspect of the play — the true engine of this production is the fast-paced narrative of suspense that calls to mind audiences’ long-standing love for detective stories. The original British production was a three-act drama with two intermissions. Robinson decided to run this performance straight through without a break.
“We considered taking intermissions, but we wanted to keep going while we have the audience in the palm of our hand, and we didn’t want to lose them so they can go out and buy a drink,” Robinson said. “As an audience member, if I’m engrossed in a play, I don’t want to have a break. I would rather have the experience all in one sitting.”
In this era of Netflix-binging habits, condensing this play to a 90-minute run time straight through makes sense and lets the audience become thoroughly engrossed in the storyline.
“We have already had some students see it and they found it very compelling and engaging,” Robinson said. “It’s a very entertaining play. It’s beautiful and thought-provoking and hopefully moving at times.”
Tickets for “An Inspector Calls” are on sale online at www.pioneertheatre.org and at the theatre’s box office. U students can get tickets for as little as $5 during “Student Rush,” which starts an hour before any performance.