In case you haven’t noticed, it’s back to school time. The former toddler is heading into his GCSE year so what better way to mark the occasion than to go and see a GCSE text live on stage? He obviously knew what was going to happen in it but I made him promise not to spoiler it for me. He did tell me that it would be sadly lacking in musical numbers – my expectations for a whodunnit have been significantly raised since seeing Kathy and Stella twice. I even suggested to Roo how an introductory song would perk things up a bit but he was not open to my suggestions or jazz hands. This play was significantly more sombre than the murder podcast musical and wasn’t really a whodunnit either. But we’ll get to that.
First though, a glimpse of the view from Alexandra Palace:
You really have to appreciate this because it was a right slog getting up there from the train station. I realised a little too late that we could have hopped a bus but never mind. They need a little funicular railway like they had in Zürich.
But still…worth it, right?
The inside of the palace is pretty spectacular too:
And check out this incredible photo montage:
The theatre itself is still in an ongoing restoration process I think – a quick google while we were waiting for the show to start suggests it was restored in the “arrested decay” style so a bit like Wilton’s Music Hall I think.
The show started with a child waving a flashlight through the audience and for a while I thought it was just someone trying to find their seat. Then he ran up onto the stage, switched an old-fashioned radio on and suddenly music was blasting out as the curtain rose. Turns out there were musical numbers after all.
There were lots of interesting choices in terms of staging. I think the play takes place entirely within a house but the house was more of a backdrop here, with most of the dialogue taking place on the street. At the start, the house is closed and self-contained so you can hear the family at dinner but not see them apart from tantalising glimpses. I wasn’t sure this would work for an entire 110 minutes so was glad when the set opened up and the characters were able to interact directly with the titular Inspector, who was lurking in a sinister way outside.
It was visually stunning though. The smoke, the rain, the silhouette of the Inspector as he waited…it was all super atmospheric and really ramped up the tension between the happy and relaxed family scene and the threat to their happiness just outside. It was the same set throughout the play but parts of it shifted – without giving away any spoilers – so it never felt stale.
Reuben had told me that there was a subtle political undertone to the script and I’m glad he did otherwise I might never have picked up on it. The socialist narrative was woven throughout but it’s telling that at the end, nothing seems to really have changed for most of the characters. Only a couple of them have learnt any kind of lesson. I won’t give away the ending but it is thought-provoking and Roo, having studied it, had a few theories of his own to share.
As I said earlier, I had no idea what to expect and thought it was a murder mystery. I was wrong – the death the inspector is investigating is a suicide and there’s no suggestion that any of the family members had any physical part in the death. It’s more about the events leading up to the suicide and who or what might have led her to do it. The plot is nicely twisty and although some points verge on predictable, it still had a lot of surprises for anyone who wasn’t reading it for GCSE.
In terms of age rating, it says 8 plus but there were a few references to things that younger kids might not understand, such as the bar for the “women of the town”. There are references to sexual assault and, obviously, suicide so it’s worth considering how sensitive your child is before booking. There are also a few jump scares and some very tense moments of both darkness and silence that younger kids might find disturbing. Even just now when I’ve played the trailer, Nathan described the music as “ominous” without knowing what it was I was playing. So beware of anyone who might be scared by that.
There’s also a bit of stage violence and lots of family conflict so be prepared for some tricky questions. Or divert them all to your child’s English teacher.
Roo appreciated seeing it come to life and thought it really helped with his understanding. It’s only on for a couple of weeks so if you have a similarly aged kid who might benefit from seeing it, it’s definitely worth a trip. The tickets were pretty reasonably priced, we had a good view and the play is a nice length (1 hr 50, no interval). Like most GCSE texts, it verges on the depressing but hey, it’s only theatre. And, as you’ll come to realise at the ending, who can tell what is real anyway?
No disclaimer needed as I paid for this one. All opinions remain honest and my own.
For tickets and more info, click here.
