Stephen Daldry’s radical production of JB Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls will make a very welcome return to Blackpool Grand Theatre in February 2025 with an exciting new cast of top West End performers.

It’s never been a better time to revisit this theatrical powerhouse… Book your seats now!

Don’t miss Stephen Daldry’s multi award-winning National Theatre production of JB Priestley’s haunting drama AN INSPECTOR CALLS as it pays an unforgettable visit to Blackpool Grand Theatre for ONE WEEK ONLY from Tuesday 25 February to Saturday 1 March 2025, direct from the West End.

This masterpiece of modern theatre will star a whole host of top theatre names led by Tim Treloar (Richard II, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet at the RSC, Henry V at the National Theatre) as Inspector Goole, alongside Jackie Morrison (Coriolanus, Oh What A Lovely War!) as Mrs Birling; Jeffrey Harmer (An Inspector Calls, Romeo & Juliet) as Mr Birling; Tom Chapman (Cymbeline, As You Like It, The Tempest) as Gerald Croft; Leona Allen (The Meeting, Pride and Prejudice) as Sheila Birling; George Rowlands (An Inspector Calls, The Boy With The Bee Jar, As You Like It) as Eric Birling, and Alice Darling (The Grain in the Blood, Twelfth Night, Hamlet) as Edna.

Katy Dean, Michael Gukas, Pena Iiyambo, Simon Pothecary and Philip Stewart complete a stellar cast that’s packed with stage royalty.

Daldry’s groundbreaking production of JB Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls has won a total of 19 major awards, including four Tony Awards and three Olivier Awards, has played to more than 5 million theatregoers worldwide and been hailed as the theatrical event of its generation since first opening to rave reviews in 1992. Priestley’s brilliantly constructed tale was written at the end of the Second World War and set before the First, and powerfully dramatises the dangers of casual capitalism’s cruelty, complacency and hypocrisy.

When Inspector Goole arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home, their peaceful dinner party is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman. His startling revelations shake the very foundations of their lives and challenge us all to examine our consciences. More relevant now than ever, this is a must-see for a whole new generation.

If we are all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?

An Inspector Calls

Stephen Daldry is world-renowned as one of Britain’s leading theatre and film directors, and has received Academy Award nominations for his films The Reader, The Hours, Billy Elliot and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He has directed countless theatre productions for both the West End and Broadway, winning multiple Olivier & Tony awards.

His recent West End theatre work includes David Hare’s Skylight, Peter Morgan’s The Audience and Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Stephen also served as executive producer on Netflix’s The Crown and directed the famously heartrending last episode.

We spoke to Stephen about reviving his famous theatre production of An Inspector Calls:

When you were first asked to direct An Inspector Calls for the York Theatre in 1989, in a previous production, you weren’t sure about it. Why was that?

“It was pretty much a staple of amateur theatre companies at the time. It took some time of researching Priestley – where he wrote it, why he wrote it, where it was first performed, how it was first performed, before I realised that it was much more of a radical piece than it had become known as. So I tried to bring it back to his radical roots.”

Did you ever meet JB Priestley, who died in 1984?

“Sadly I never met JB, but I was lucky enough to meet Jacquetta Hawkes, who was his wife and a very famous archaeologist. I went to see her and talked her through this production, and got her blessing. I did say to her at the time – I’m trying to do a production which reveals the play as it was meant to be written, and do tell me if you think I’ve gone off beam. And she loved it.”

This production has toured almost every year since 1992. Did you imagine at the time that it could be a long runner?

“Not at all. It was originally programmed for quite a short run at the National Theatre and a tour. I think there was a certain nervousness about what I was doing. We had some leading actors of the day in the show, Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Richard Pasco, for example, who were not to be revealed straightaway. And there were cobbles, and there was rain, and it was quite – it is still quite – a demanding show for the actors.”

What changes have you made over time?

“Remarkably, very few. It’s pretty much the same production as it was when we opened. I’m not sure now if I would have been as bold as I was in my late twenties. I’m 64 now, so it’s a long time ago. It’s a work from a younger version of yourself.”

What is it like returning to something as opposed to working on something new?

“What I love about the play is how it is perceived each time it’s done; how the audience reacts. It always seems to be a play for today – a play of our times in one way or another. And it does often intersect with issues of the day. So the issue of the day, for example, would be a young mother, who’s living on her own, about to have a baby, and can’t find any means of economic support for that. That thing about mothers, about single mothers, about who’s meant to support them, what is the role or responsibility of the father, of the family, of the state, still feels like a very current conversation.”

It’s a sort of modern morality play – is that something that we do much of these days?

“No, I don’t think we do. It is a morality play and it’s a little bit agitation and propaganda. You have a character who stands in front of the audience and says what he thinks and what we should be doing, and I love that. I think it’s thrilling to have a political play that’s directly in conversation with his audience.”

Can art inspire social change?

“I think that’s the reason we do it. I’ve always believed anything you make that’s in a genuine conversation about the world we live in, shifts the conversation, and even if it makes just one person think or change, then yes. Trying to make the world a better place and trying to have a conversation about the world we live in is, I think, the point of doing any piece of work.”

Don’t miss out! Book your seats now for this landmark production that’s guaranteed to challenge captivated audiences ans sweep them into the mysterious world of Inspector Goole…

JB Priestley’s An Inspector Calls directed by Stephen Daldry is at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Tuesday 25 February to Saturday 1 March 2025 with evening and matinee performances.

Tickets from £17.50 with group/schools rates available and concessions for 1894 Club members.

There are also discounted tickets available for 18 to 26-year-olds as part of the national ticket scheme to encourage young adults to experience all forms of live theatre.

Please call the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01253 290190 or visit www.BlackpoolGrand.co.uk for full listings, bookings and further information.