An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 and is one of J B Priestley’s best-known works. A favourite of amateur theatre groups; with its set of a stuffy-looking Edwardian dining room, the characters could easily become waxworks in a museum, relics from the past, rather than flesh and blood characters with whose greed, callous hypocrisy and self-satisfaction we could all identify”.

The play has also been on the GCSE syllabus for many years, and so credit to director Stephen Daldry for choosing to make his National Theatre debut with a revival of this play and breathing new life into it.

The auditorium was jam-packed with school parties on the opening performance in York and has completely sold out for the entire week. Having seen many versions of this play, I have to say, this was the best production of An Inspector Calls I’ve ever seen, with Iain McNeilll’s superb set design speaking volumes, capturing the simple, powerful message of the play.

Mounted on hydraulics on what looked like a fairytale house, this set opened like a doll’s house, collapsing and being reconstructed at relevant points in the play; it made for a jaw-dropping experience, combined with loud, atmospheric music, pyrotechnics, and stunning lighting.

The house was surrounded by a bombsite where children scavenged, and ghostlike, displaced people lurked in the background watching the action of the play. This new vision of JB Priestly’s classic thriller was thrilling to experience, and very hard hitting, exposing the selfishness and hypocrisy of a capitalist society. The author, a lifelong socialist of the old kind, a spokesman for the ordinary people and opposed to the class system, would have been thrilled I’m sure, to see his message getting across to the audience so powerfully.

Strong performances given by a stellar cast, from Liam Brennan’s understated, yet wonderfully unnerving portrayal of Inspector Goole, to the quietly impressive performance of Frances Campbell as Edna, the Burlings’ maid. Christine Kavangh’s performance as Sybil Birling was as magnificent as her stunning silk dress, with Chloe Orrock as Sheila Burling, and George Rowlands as her brother Eric, shining a light of hope for the next generation, shedding their old selfish ways, unlike their parents.

Wish this production had been around when I’d been at school!