This scene is set at the Birling residence with a group of people who have just been celebrating an engagement between Mr Birling’s daughter and the son of a very wealthy businessman. An inspector calls and questions each of them about their involvement with Eva smith who is presently known to have killed herself. They are in a cold but luxuriously furnished room, possibly the dining room. The lighting should be cold (blue) and bright with four people present in the room: Mr and Mrs Birling, their daughter Sheila and the Inspector. This whole extract is one in a series of mainly chronologically linked confessions from the family, which build up the tension and eventually lead into the death of Eva smith.
Each confession was of an event that had made life for Eva smith worse and worse. She sank lower and lower until suicide was the last option for her. There is great tension before each confession, but when there are revealed the audience’s suspicion is confirmed. The play was so joyful and warm at the beginning (pink soft lighting), but now the mood is bitter and the family are experiencing conflict, with emotions such as guilt from Sheila, arrogance from Mr Birling denial from Mrs Birling, and a massive inquisitional attitude from the inspector. During this extract we see how the tension build up and how suspicion is aroused.
When Birling gives his speech after refusing to apologise to the inspector saying he is a public man the inspector massively interrupts him: “Public men Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges” This interruption causes tension in the whole room and an awkwardness arises. The family begin to lose trust in each other and the inspector takes everything apart piece by piece until the truth is out in the open. I would have Mr Birling stand up while giving his speech but then have the inspector stand up also to ‘overpower’ Mr Birling in his interruption. There should then be a silent pause in the room, to increase tension, until Mr Birling sits down while he’s saying his next line “possibly…” trying not to look corrected. Next I think Mrs Birling should get up and go to the counter to pour drinks while Sheila is talking but she should turn around and look at Sheila whilst saying “Does that mean anything, Sheila?”
Up to this moment Mrs Birling should be very calm until now, then she could possibly start to panic a bit by acting agitated manner which will make the audience even more suspicious of her, ‘does she really know Eva smith?’ Sheila should be very accusing and reckless, showing her nervousness as if she is about the break down. Mr Birling should act very pompously, as if everything he had done was for a good reason and he was not guilty of anything. The Inspector should be the most mysterious character in the room because no one really knows where he came from and he has somehow obtained all this knowledge about Eva Smith. It should make the audience wonder what his connection with Eva Smith is.
Later the Inspector’s threatening questions are used to accuse and unsettle Mrs Birling: “You know very well there was, Mrs Birling. You were in the chair…Do you want me to tell you – in plain words?” She tells him its none of his business and there is a lot of tension between the two. I think she should look away at this point and stare down at her drink to avoid eye contact. She should be a very nervous character underneath her smugness, so again she should be fiddling with her pearls or hair while the inspector is very composed. He won’t stand for anything though and he is very intimidating when and says this in quite a rude tone.
They are almost about to have a row but this is stopped b the entry of Mr Birling. The attention immediately turns to him to find out whether Eric had entered the house, there are obviously many questions to be asked. When he enters he should be very agitated and go pour himself a drink then sit down to see what they are discussing. It is clear no one likes any of the inspector’s accusations so Mr Birling should go and stand next to his wife when he finds out she is now being questioned. His voice should sound very defensive but the couple should also act collected since they believe they are not guilty of anything and have no reason to panic. The tension begins to rise and then this all leads to the next key moment. The next important moment in the extract is when the inspector reveals Mrs Birling’s involvement with Eva smith: ” But Mrs Birling spoke to and saw her only two weeks ago.”
