STUART — J.B. Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” may be set in 1912, but it is as relevant today as when it premiered in 1945.
The play touches on social responsibility, class inequality and moral hypocrisy as it tells the story of a wealthy British family. The drama unfolds in the family dining room, where the Birling family is celebrating their daughter’s engagement with a high society party.
Police Inspector Goole, played by Todd Caster, arrives unexpectedly and announces that a young working-class woman has died by suicide and the family must be questioned.
The celebration soon becomes a tense interrogation and moral reckoning as each character’s connection to the death is revealed.
Every scene from the modern morality play reveals another piece of the puzzle. Before the evening is over, members of the once-friendly and close-knit Birling family begin to show their true selves.
Mary Murphy chose the drama for her solo directorial debut, after seeing a revival of the play in 1993. Murphy said she worked to keep the message humanitarian rather than political.
“The message is clear. We do not live alone. We are all connected. We are each other’s keepers,” Murphy said. “Even the slightest move can have a huge impact on someone. Let’s all just be kind to one another.”
Other cast members include Robert Pollock, Kelly Wright, Mikaela Smith, Ryan Conner, James Mitchell and Kathy Corliss.
“An Inspector Calls” runs weekends, Oct. 2 – 18. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets are $28 and may be purchased online at actstudiotheatre.com or by phone at 772- 932-8880.
The A.C.T. Studio Theatre is in the Cedar Pointe Plaza, at 2399 SE Ocean Blvd., Stuart.