THEATRE CREDITS (1)

AN INSPECTOR CALLS by J.B.Priestley. Directed by Stephen Daldry. Designer Ian MacNeil. Produced by The Royal National Theatre. Opened Lyttelton Theatre, 11th Spetember 1992. Cast included: Richard Pasco, Louis Hilyer, Barbara Leigh Hunt, Vivienne Burgess, Robert Bowman, Kenneth Cranham.

Diana first played the role of SHEILA BIRLING in Stephen Daldry's radical reinterpretation of this Priestley classic at the York Theatre Royal in 1989. The play had always been considered something of a theatrical warhorse; a well crafted "chamber" piece, beloved of repertory companies because its small cast, and one set, made it cheap to produce.

Daldry took on the job of directing it as an assignment but quickly began to apply his imagination to the task. Amongst his first discoveries was that Priestley had never liked or approved of the naturalistic style in which his play had been produced in front of English speaking audiences; much preferring the heightened "social realism" of the original Russian production.

From this and other sources, Daldry found the means to re-shape the play; opening it out and developing it into a stunning theatrical tour de force. The production was a great success both on a critical and populist level but its audience was necessarily limited by its location.

When approached by the National Theatre to direct a play, Daldry put forward AN INSPECTOR CALLS as a possible choice. It puzzled them but they eventually conceded, thinking it would at least be inexpensive to mount. They were not prepared for the large cast of extras or for the size of the set.

Daldry took two actors from the original production, Diana and Robert Bowman, to "seed" his new cast. With the added resources at his disposal, he recreated and exceeded his original vision. The play was hugely successful, both nationally and internationally and is still running today in London's west end.

Although Diana left the production relatively early to make the film HEAVENLY CREATURES, she and Stephen Daldry have remained on good terms. Most recently she made a guest appearance in his first film, BILLY ELLIOT.

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