Hello, I'm Mrs. Butterworth, and I am really looking forward to today's English lesson.

And I hope you are too because today, we are going to be exploring some theatrical traditions.

So we're going to be looking at naturalism and expressionism and how these appear in "An Inspector Calls" and how they have been used to stage "An Inspector Calls." So some really interesting stuff to look at here.

So, shall we get started? So in this lesson, you will analyse how Priestley uses conventions of naturalism and expressionism to support his political agenda.

But before we delve into the lesson, let's look at those all important keywords that will help with our understanding.

Those words are naturalism, expressionism, heredity, symbolic, and radical.

Now, naturalism and expressionism are both styles of theatre.

Naturalism focuses on portraying life realistically, whereas expressionism is all about emphasising emotion and individual perception, and it often distorts reality for effect.

So you can see how naturalism and expressionism are quite different there.

This word heredity will pop up as well, so keep your eyes peeled for it.

And this is the passing of traits from parents to offspring, influencing behaviour and characteristics.

We also get the word symbolic.

We'll be thinking of this with regards to the characters.

And this means to represent something beyond its literal meaning.

So, often used symbols or being symbolic is about often being used to convey deeper or abstract concepts.

And then this final word, radical, okay? And radical is all about relating to or advocating for significant change or transformation, often challenging traditional views.

So we're gonna be thinking a little bit today about how "An Inspector Calls" could be considered a radical text of its time and look at how recent productions have thought of this text as radical.

The outline of our lesson looks like this.

So we're going to begin by looking at naturalism and the realism of "An Inspector Calls" before moving on to expressionism and Priestley's political agenda.

So, let's begin with the first part of the lesson, naturalism and the realism of "An Inspector Calls." Now, as we said in our keywords, naturalism is a theatrical style that attempts to replicate real life on stage.

So it's really interested in showing real human behaviour and psychology, so there's that realism aspect there.

The characters are shaped by their background and environment.

It uses realistic settings and dialogue, and the conflicts are important and life-changing.

And it also uses simple plots with no extra details or sub-stories.

Now, we can consider elements of "An Inspector Calls" as naturalistic.

So we can think about this idea of that it shows real human behaviour and psychology in the fact that, you know, if we think about real human behaviour, Mr. Birling arguably reflects a real person in his dismissive attitude towards social responsibility, and this could arguably reflect genuine capitalist attitudes and behaviours.

The fact that the characters are shaped by their background and environment.

So if we think about the Birlings, arguably they are shaped by the class and societal expectations of the Edwardian period.

And in this sense, they could be considered a believable Edwardian family.

The use of realistic settings and dialogue.

So, we see that Priestley sets his play in one room of the Birlings' home, which again adds some realism to the social dynamic.

You know, dialogue is both formal and familiar, so it suits the period that the play is set as well as who is speaking.

So Priestley does that there.

The conflicts are important and life-changing.

So I think we can agree that this happens in "An Inspector Calls." You know, the revelation of Eva Smith's death forces each character to confront their role in societal issues, changing their perspectives.

So by the end of the play, we can see that those conflicts throughout have been incredibly important and life-changing.

And then finally, the simple plots with no extra details or subplots.

So the play actually focuses on one single event, doesn't it? And that's the interrogation of the Birlings.

So it doesn't really diverge into unrelated subplots.

Okay, so, A, B, C, or D, which of the following best describes naturalism in theatre? A, B, C, or D? I'd like your answer now, please.

Okay, well done to everyone that said B.

Okay, it presents life in a realistic and glorified manner, often focusing on social issues.

Okay, so that first answer, it focuses on exaggerated characters and dramatic events, is almost like the opposite of naturalism.

Now, naturalism can be considered political theatre, and it is closely linked to politics for the following reasons.

Because it often exposes inequalities, so depicts harsh realities for working-class and marginalised groups.

So it's all about highlighting social and economic issues.

Naturalism very often critiques social systems showing how environment and heredity shaped behaviour, often critiquing systems like capitalism and class hierarchies.

I'm sure lots of you are starting to go, "Hold on, this sounds a little bit like 'An Inspector Calls.

'" Absolutely.

And then finally, encourages reform and aims to inspire change by showcasing the suffering caused by systematic inequalities and urging action.

So again, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "This sounds a little bit like 'An Inspector Calls.

'" Okay, so I'd like you just to spend a few moments discussing, if we consider "An Inspector Calls" as a political manifesto or propaganda, how might the style of naturalism help Priestley fulfil his political agenda? So think about those political aims of naturalism and how they could align with Priestley's own agenda, okay? So, you'll need to pause the video to give yourself time to discuss this question.

If you are working on your own, you can think quietly to yourself, or you could even jot some ideas down.

But pause the video and get discussing.

Off you go.

Thank you, all.

That's a really difficult question, so it's really great to see you engaging with some of those key ideas in naturalism and linking them to Priestley's political agenda.

So well done, everyone.

We're really starting to go quite deep into the text, which is really exciting.

So we have our Oak pupils here, Izzy and Alex, and this is how they answered.

So Izzy says that "Naturalism makes the Birlings's class status and Eva's suffering feel real, making it harder to ignore.

By exposing inequality, Priestley's play acts as a political manifesto, urging socialist reform through a convincing, lifelike portrayal of class injustice." That's a great discussion point there from Izzy.

And Alex has said that "Priestley uses naturalism to make his play persuasive.

The realistic setting and dialogue immerse the audience in a world where capitalism leads to suffering, almost acting as propaganda to convince the audience that socialist change is the only solution." So some really interesting points there from Izzy and Alex about how actually naturalism and the realistic presentation of these issues and characters could be quite persuasive for an audience and could be quite useful in terms of Priestley's political agenda.

So just take a moment to consider Izzy and Alex's discussion, and I'd like you to discuss now please, to what extent do you agree with their comments and why? Pause the video, and off you go.

Okay, true or false time.

Arguably, naturalism in "An Inspector Calls" helps Priestley deliver his political message by presenting the characters and events in a highly exaggerated and unrealistic way.

Is that true, or is it false? I would like your answer now, please.

Okay, well done to everyone that said false, but you need to tell me why that statement is false.

Off you go.

Okay, has everyone got an answer? Lots of you feeling confident? Okay, great.

So I'm gonna share an answer with you, and hopefully you have something similar.

So, it's false because actually, naturalism presents events realistically, arguably making Priestley's political message more convincing and relatable.

Okay, so if you look in that statement, it's saying that it presents the characters in a highly exaggerated and unrealistic way.

That's actually false because naturalism is the opposite.

Well done, everyone.

We have reached our first practise task.

So, if you don't have your copy of "An Inspector Calls" to hand, make sure you go and grab that now.

So you may want to pause the video to do that.

So once you have your "An Inspector Calls" to hand, what I would like you to do, please, is I would like you to read the opening stage directions in Act 1, page 1, from the start "the" to the end of the second paragraph "themselves." So find that, read it, and then I would like you, please, from those stage directions to find three examples that could be considered naturalism.

So I would then like you to explain how they conform to the conventions of naturalism and how Priestley uses them to support his political agenda.

So once you've got those three examples, you then need to explain how they conform to the conventions of naturalism and how Priestley uses them to support his political agenda.

So make sure you've got everything you need to complete this task.

And you'll need to pause the video, and off you go.

Excellent.

Thank you, everyone.

It's interesting, isn't it? Because once you start thinking about this idea of naturalism, you can see it in the text, can't you? And again, it's this idea about opening the text up to multiple interpretations, lots of different ideas and contextual information.

So it just makes our understanding of the text even deeper and richer.

So let's look at Andeep's answers to that task.

So Andeep says that Priestley describes a "dining room" that is "substantial" and "comfortable," even stating that this could be a "realistic" set.

So Andeep has got his example there, which is great.

He's then going to explain those.

So this suggests that the set is detailed and authentic in reflecting the Birlings's wealth and the period of the time, aligning with the conventions of naturalism to present life as it is, making the characters feel believable.

So Andeep has really explained there how those examples reflect naturalism's style.

So, you know, this idea about presenting life as it is and those believable characters.

And then Andeep goes on to explain how this aligns with Priestley's agenda.

And he says, "Arguably, the realistic setting highlights the Birlings's wealth, encouraging the audience to reflect on class disparities and reinforcing Priestley's socialist critique of society." So I'd now like you to consider your own answers and Andeep's answers, and I'd like you to just spend a moment discussing to what extent do you agree and why? Pause the video to answer the question.

Off you go.

So that's the first part of the lesson complete.

So we've thought about naturalism and realism, and now we are going to focus on expressionism and Priestley's political agenda.

Now, as you may remember, all the way back at the start of the lesson in our keywords, expressionism is a theatrical style that emphasises emotions and ideas over reality.

So it's almost like the opposite of naturalism, not quite, but almost, in terms of the ideas and emotions over reality.

So what it does is it highlights intense emotions and societal failures.

So again, here we can see that tradition of political theatre because very often it refers to ideas of societal failures.

It features symbolic, exaggerated characters, uses dramatic lighting and distorted time and space.

So again, I'm sure some of you are already thinking that some of this might link to "An Inspector Calls." It critiques systems like government, business, and family structures, and often presents distorted, stylized settings and dialogue.

So I'd like you to discuss now, thinking about those details of expressionism, what details in "An Inspector Calls" can be seen as examples of expressionism, okay? So you might want to just refer back to those details, but you'll definitely need to pause the video and to discuss where those details are in "An Inspector Calls" that could be considered examples of expressionism.

So, if you're working on your own, you can think quietly to yourself or jot down some ideas.

Either way, you're gonna need to pause the video to come up with your answers.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

Yeah, lots of you instantly drawing those links between expressionism and "An Inspector Calls." So it really is quite closely aligned to that.

So you may have discussed some of the following.

The Inspector.

So the Inspector's a really key one, isn't it, that he could be considered more symbolic than a real detective.

And I'm sure you've considered this in quite a lot of detail.

Lighting changes.

So, you may have noticed in Act 1 on page 1, the lighting is described as "intimate," it's described as "pink," but then it suggests that it changes dramatically to "harder" and "brighter" when the Inspector arrives.

So if we think about expressionism really linking to ideas of emotion and highlighting those, the lighting really does that there.

And again, it's not particularly realistic, is it, to have the lighting change in that way.

And again, it's symbolic, isn't it? The Inspector arrives, and that lighting changes to almost quite an oppressive, confrontational, bright, harsh light.

Again, links to expressionism.

And that time distortion.

So there's that twist at the end of Act 3, page 72.

So that repetition of the phone call, which has lots of suggestions of a time distortion.

So, are they about to replay everything that's happened before? Has what happened before actually been a hoax? So there's lots of ideas there around what actually happens at the end and ideas of time.

So we could argue that the Birlings' home functions as a realistic setting, as we explored in the first part of the lesson, but we could argue that it is disrupted by expressionist techniques.

So the disruption occurs in the change in lighting from "pink" to "harder" in Act 1 and that dramatic arrival of the Inspector.

And he's described as, you know, this sense of "massiveness" and "solidity." And if we think about the exaggerated characters of expressionism, the Inspector could be read in this way.

And all of those words that describe him, he is a really exaggerated presence.

You know, Priestley really describes the way he looks at the other characters with intensity.

So it's almost like he's an exaggerated inspector that allows for him to be more symbolic than he is realistic.

So what this could also suggest is that the use of naturalism makes the Birlings's world recognisable, whereas expressionism disrupts it to expose its flaws.

That's a really nice argument there, isn't it? That the naturalism makes the Birlings' world recognisable, but expressionism is all about that disruption to expose its flaws.

Okay, A, B, or C, which of the following best describes expressionism in theatre? I'd like you to come up with your answer now.

Okay, who thinks they've got the right answer? Lots of you? Shall we see? Well done, everyone, that came up with A, it presents life in a symbolic, emotional manner, often highlighting inner psychological states.

Well done to everyone that got A.

We are now going to spend a little bit of time thinking about Stephen Daldry's production of "An Inspector Calls." Now, Stephen Daldry is a famous director and producer of theatre, film, and TV.

He's very well known in that world.

You may have seen even some of his work.

So they include the film "Billy Elliot" and the film "Trash," the TV show "The Crown," and he produced the musical of "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" in 2024.

So you may have experienced some of those.

Now, he also directed a famous production of "An Inspector Calls" for the National Theatre in 1992, which was again revived in 2009, and I believe it is also touring in 2024 and 2025.

So it's a very popular production that has had numerous revivals.

And I think this is really interesting from Stephen Daldry.

He states that one of his aims was to "re-establish" the play in a more "radical" way.

And I think that's a really good point.

I think sometimes as a contemporary audience, we can look at "An Inspector Calls" as being quite archaic and not particularly challenging or radical.

But actually, for Daldry, he's like, "I want to show this play as being radical" because perhaps back in 1945 in its use of theatrical techniques and its overt political messaging, it could be seen as being quite radical.

So I think that's a really interesting point to consider from Stephen Daldry.

Now, Daldry's staging and direction has been described as expressionist, which he states was a very purposeful choice and again links to his aim to reestablish the play in a more radical way.

Now, Daldry's expressionist set included some of the following details.

So, he presents the Birlings' house as small and fragile, set on stilts.

It's almost like a doll's house, and it's on stilts on the stage, and the characters kind of struggle to all fit in it.

So it really kind of reflects this claustrophobic, insular world that the Birlings live in.

There's also this slope from the house to the stage that the characters move down in different and exaggerated ways.

At one point, Gerald even slides down it, almost falling down, which again is not particularly realistic.

And as the play progresses, the house actually opens up and ends up collapsing, so really mirroring those ideas from "An Inspector Calls." And the backdrop of the play is this interesting wasteland outside of the house.

And as the play progresses, it becomes more and more prominent, and the characters, the Birlings, begin to interact with that wasteland more and more.

There are also non-named and anonymous 1940s characters as well within that staging to kind of show that difference between time periods.

And it also uses incredibly dramatic lighting, music, and effects.

There's lots of smoke.

There's lots of flashing lights.

And I think, again, that really emphasises the theatricality of the production.

We know that we are watching a play.

So, I'd like you to discuss now, how might Daldry's choices reflect the key themes and ideas in "An Inspector Calls"? So I've already given you a few ideas, but just reread those ideas there and think about how they could reflect those key themes and ideas in "An Inspector Calls." As ever, you're gonna need to pause the video to come up with your answers.

Off you go.

Okay, great, fantastic.

It's really good, isn't it, thinking about those choices by Daldry and the key themes.

So you may have discussed some of the following.

So, Daldry arguably made these choices to symbolise the Birlings' fragile, unstable social world.

So we can see that in that collapsing of the house.

Highlight the characters' moral descent and shifting power dynamics.

And I think that's what's really interesting is when the play begins, the Birlings are almost quite high up.

So they're above the audience, which puts them on this, reflects their status, if you like, or their own perception of their status.

And then as the Inspector interrogates them, they slowly start to come down, which again shows those shifting power dynamics and their own sense of their own status.

And again, this all links to the unravelling of the Birlings' illusions.

And there's a real sense that this all symbolises the social decay and the consequences of the Birlings' actions.

So, I think even that wasteland is really good at reflecting that too.

And there's this sense that moving away from naturalistic dialogue, the characters have to interact with each other in a non-realistic way, and this really enhances the emotional intensity and emphasises the play's symbolic themes.

Now, thinking about these specific choices, I'd like you to discuss, please, how might Daldry's choices reflect Priestley's political agenda? So thinking about what Priestley might be trying to achieve politically, how might Daldry's choices reflect this? So pause the video so you've got time to discuss your ideas.

Off you go.

Okay, great discussions, everyone.

Now for a quick true or false.

Stephen Daldry's staging for "An Inspector Calls" could be described as radical.

Would you say that is true or false? I would like your answer now, please.

And of course, well done.

I can hear some of you even shouting the answer.

It is true! Well done.

But, as ever, we need to say why that statement is true, so please come up with your answer now.

Okay, so I'm gonna share my answer.

Hopefully you have something similar.

So, Stephen Daldry actually himself stated that his choice of staging was "radical" as it departs from traditional realistic staging, aligning with the conventions and intentions of expressionism.

So this is what makes the presentation of "An Inspector Calls" seemingly radical.

Now, arguably, Priestley uses elements of both naturalism and expressionism in "An Inspector Calls," so we can think about "An Inspector Calls" in both of these theatrical traditions.

So, we can start to think about why he might combine them.

So we could say that Priestley combines them to highlight the contrast between the superficial comfort of the Birlings's world and the underlying social issues.

We could also argue that the use of both forms engages the audience emotionally and intellectually.

So this urges them to question societal structures and take responsibility for change.

So I think actually, if we consider the text as both naturalism and expressionism, it leads to a really rich understanding of Priestley's intentions and what he could be trying to achieve there.

Okay, so, lots to think about, but now it is over to you for your second practise task.

And I would like you, please, to write an answer to the following questions.

How does Priestley use the conventions of naturalism and expressionism to support his political agenda? And how does Priestley's use of both shape audience responses? So let me just say those questions again.

How does Priestley use the conventions of naturalism and expressionism to support his political agenda? And how does Priestley's use of both shape audience responses, okay? So you are going to write an answer to those questions.

You should identify Priestley's use of specific techniques.

So think about everything we've looked at in the first part of the lesson and the second part.

There's lots of specific techniques you can identify.

Explain how these support "An Inspector Calls" as an example of political manifesto, propaganda, or persuasive drama.

So really thinking about explaining Priestley's political agenda.

Use examples from the text.

We always need examples from the text.

And then finally, refer to Daldry's staging and his intentions just to really elevate and develop your comments further.

So really think about Daldry's staging and his intentions, and you can refer to those.

Okay, so there is lots to be getting on with.

Make sure you have everything you need to complete this task successfully.

When you are ready, pause the video and get writing.

Well done, everyone.

That was a really tricky question, and you have engaged with it so well.

And I hope you can start to see that engaging with these ideas really offers a more complex, nuanced, and even interesting reading of the text and really start to kind of dig in to what Priestley might be trying to achieve.

And I think looking at Daldry's interpretation is really interesting as well.

As a professional director, we can start to see how he engages with the text and how his staging really engages with those key themes.

So I think it's a really great and exciting way to look at the text.

So I'd like you now to look at your answers to those questions and self-assess.

So, have you identified Priestley's use of specific techniques? Explained how these support "An Inspector Calls" as an example of manifesto, propaganda, or persuasive drama? Used examples from the text? And referred to Daldry's staging and his intentions? So you might just want to go through and tick where you have met those, and you may want to use this as an opportunity just to change some of your answers.

Okay, so when you are ready, pause the video and get self-assessing.

Okay, well done, everyone.

We have reached the end of the lesson, and I've had such a great time teaching this.

I think looking at those theatrical traditions really makes the text come to life and really helps us to understand Priestley's intentions.

So I hope you got lots from this too.

So let's just remind ourselves of all of those wonderful things we've looked at.

That naturalism presents realistic settings and characters to critique social and economic inequalities.

We've also looked at how Priestley uses naturalism, whether that's to expose class disparities and to make his political messaging convincing.

We know that expressionism emphasises emotions, symbolism, and exaggerated elements to highlight societal flaws.

We've looked at how Priestley uses expressionism, and he uses it to critique capitalism and class hierarchies.

And finally, we've looked at Daldry's wonderful staging, thinking about how he uses expressionism and how that symbolises the Birlings' moral decay and societal consequences.

Phew! What a packed lesson.

So again, a very well done, everyone, and I look forward to another lesson with you soon.

I'll see you then.

Goodbye.