To Begin at the Beginning......

"To Begin at the Beginning" is the famous line that starts Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. It seems fitting that when starting a brand new blog I use something literary to kick it all off! As the very first line in An Inspector Calls is "Giving us the port, Edna?"  I didn't feel this was really appropriate as a dynamic sentence to start the blogging process!

So, what to say about "An Inspector Calls" and where are we currently going with it? Firstly, let me introduce myself - I am Neil Maidman, the director of the play. I have a great connection with "An Inspector Calls" as I previously played Gerald Croft (of Croft's Limited) in two previous productions. This time I am leaving the acting to my talented band of players and hoping to concentrate on bringing something new to this popular play.

When I'm directing, my process starts by reading the play - it seems a silly thing to say, and I once directed a play having read only the first act prior to it being selected for production. Fortunately, it turned out a success but that was more by luck than judgement! So reading the entire play is important and for a number of reasons: to familiarize yourself with the themes and characters; to develop your ideas for production (costume, set, etc) and to think about the casting process - who might fit well into which role.  For me, however, the most important element of that initial reading is to begin to work out how you get the play from the page to the stage. All the other elements that I have mentioned matter a great deal but essentially the key for me is how to convey this story from a book and make it come to life on the stage for the audience.

Over the coming weeks, this blog will explore the various elements of the production and you will be able to read my thoughts on it all and about the challenges that we face, choices we have to make and some of the mistakes we will no doubt make along the way. You will also be able to connect with the actors and technical crew about their experiences and, as it is also our intention to do some video blogging, you can "meet the actors" before coming to see the production.

"An Inspector Calls" by JB Priestley will run from 11th March 2013.  It is our hope that prior to this lots of people will log on to this page and find the information insightful before coming to see the production.