an inspector calls 

By JB Priestley

Directed by Chris Routledge

A Rehearsed Reading

Performance:  

Saturday October 31st  2026 @ 7.30pm

This will be open only to PTC/G64 members and immediate friends or family.

Suggested donation £5

AUDITIONS

Sunday 25 October at 18:00 at Putney Arts Theatre

AUDITION preparation

Please note that auditions for rehearsed readings are open only to members of PTC. There is no show fee. This is a private event, so please don’t share it on social media outside of the PTC Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Members and their friends and family can attend the performance.

You do not need to prepare anything, but it would help to have at least a basic knowledge of the play and character you are auditioning for. Audition materials will be supplied on the night. Please arrive on time.

Please email the producer Stuart Watson at artistic@putneyartstheatre.org.uk if you would like to audition but cannot attend on the official date or if you have any other queries.

AUDITION FORM

Please fill in the audition form here by Saturday 24 October.

If you sign up, but are unable to attend, please try to let us know in advance.

REHEARSALS:

Rehearsals will take place on the evening of Friday 30 October at 7pm and the afternoon of Saturday 31 October from 1.30pm, until before the performance on Saturday evening.

About the Play

In J.B. Priestley’s gripping classic, set in 1912, the wealthy and complacent Birling family are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole. He arrives just as they are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft. The Inspector reveals that a girl called Eva Smith, has taken her own life by drinking disinfectant. The family are horrified but initially confused as to why the Inspector has called to see them. Goole’s investigation gradually exposes the family’s guilty secrets, challenging their assumptions about responsibility and society as they discover that they are all in fact caught up in the girl's death.

CASTING

It’s a rehearsed reading, so all performers are welcome, and we strongly encourage actors of all backgrounds and identities to audition for any role.

ROLES :

(All playing ages are approximate)

ARTHUR BIRLING (Male 40+): A self-made and self-important provincial businessman with a reputation for being hard-headed, Birling has made himself very wealthy and thinks that he might be in the running for a Knighthood.

SYBIL BIRLING (Female 40+): Sybil, Arthur Birling's wife, is his social superior, born into an upper-class family. She is cold-hearted and snobbish despite being a prominent member of a local women's charity.

SHEILA BIRLING (Female 20s-30s): At the start of the play the Birlings’ daughter is celebrating her engagement to Gerald Croft. She initially appears giddy and naïve, but shows increasing insight and intelligence as the evening progresses.

ERIC BIRLING (Male 20s): The Birlings' son is described as being “not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive”. It becomes clear that he is drunk at the dinner table and later it is revealed that his drinking is part of a pattern of dissolute and irresponsible behaviour.

GERALD CROFT (Male 20s-30s): A confident and charming young man, Sheila’s fiancé is described as “rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town”. His family are upper class business owners and Arthur Birling hopes that an alliance with his daughter will encourage them to join forces.

INSPECTOR GOOLE (Male or female, any age): Goole’s investigation drives forward the drama as he investigates each family member one at a time and in doing so, reveals the consequences of their behaviour. By the end of the play, it is revealed that he isn’t actually an Inspector. It is not entirely clear who he is, and Priestley leaves it up to the audience to decide. His name 'Goole' suggests a supernatural element, and he seems to know what the characters will say before they do. Is he the conscience of the audience? Is he the voice of the playwright? Either way he delivers a frightening message when he leaves, that if people do not take responsibility for each other, the world is doomed.

EDNA (Female, any age): The parlour maid, who announces gusts and clears the dishes. A small role.

Diversity, Inclusion & Casting Vision

PTC is committed to diversity and inclusion. We want a membership that is reflective of the diverse communities within London. We actively encourage all performers to audition for the roles which they feel best suit their skills.

Where ethnicities are not listed against the characters, we would openly encourage actors of all ethnicities to consider those roles.

Our company is run by volunteers and we expect all actors cast in a play to volunteer for Front of House duties at least once a year. Our shows could not go up without our Front of House volunteers.

Costs

Please note that this is an amateur production. You need to be a member of Putney Theatre Company to audition. That cost is currently £30 a year.  There is no cost to audition and no show fee. A printout of the play script will be supplied to those cast.