Photo Source: Wesley Pribadi on Unsplash.
If, like me, memories of the horrible series of events in Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ remain with you from GCSEs, then you’ll be pleased to hear that Stage Society is bringing another of his cheerful plays to a theatre near you.
But what to expect once you have settled into your seat at our Cope Auditorium?
Well, it wouldn’t be a Priestley play without a happy family, a meddling outsider, and some savvy socialist monologues.
The Happy Family
Set in the Conway home during the inter-war period, the narrative centres around the widowed, but untroubled, Mrs Conway and her six children. All are shining and ambitious – apart from dull and timid Alan. Our matriarch only shows an obligatory level of concern for her offspring, with her almost humorous natural cruelty being a genuine highlight of the play.
Mrs Conway’s character showcases Priestley’s dramatic flair. He tactfully uses entertaining but controversial characters that you can’t help but love-to-hate in order to feed complex ideas to us ordinary playgoers.
The Meddling Outsider
Ernest Beevers is another interesting character. He is a working-class intruder on the Conway’s game of charades looking to climb the social ladder by attaining Hazel, who is considered the most beautiful daughter and ultimate prize.
In ‘An Inspector Calls’, Eva Smith is presented as an innocent victim of upper-class selfishness. However, Ernest reflects the alternate possibility of this victimhood. Where Eva becomes downtrodden and suicidal, Ernest is powerful and bitter. Priestley recognised this dangerous combination, a pointed comment on how such characters emerged before the second world war as a product of their society.
Wealth and Dunne’s Theory of Time
Like some people you may know, the Conways wouldn’t call themselves rich but ‘comfortable’.
Yet, wealth does not reveal itself as the main villain of the play. Instead, it is the fear of time running out. Across three acts – set at contrasting time points – this fear causes the Conways to compete and undermine each other, ultimately leading to their downfall.
Almost ninety years on from the play being written, I think Priestley’s message that we should value the people in our lives, rather than just ruthlessly pursue ‘productivity goals’, feels remarkably modern and appropriate.
Although, admittedly, Priestley was heavily guided by the debunked ‘Dunne Theory of Time’. He explores the repercussions a single decision can have, and the idea that ‘precognitive dreams’ can influence us with foreknowledge of the future.
It’s like that moment in a film where the lead meets someone innocuously, say by bumping them in the street. Then they puzzledly stare at the stranger as if knowing they will become relevant in some way, only to meet them again 10 years down the line and get married.
But don’t expect anything that fanciful in this play – Priestley didn’t have my romantic streak, instead preferring to give characters morbid fixations on death…
Priestley’s Style
Subtle is not a word I associate with Priestley. His characters tend to conveniently announce their hopes and dreams so their success can be measured later. Take Kay, an aspiring author who’s twenty-first and fortieth birthdays look drastically different.
Such characters are often raised up and torn down to make a point, make it again, and then make it once more.
But Priestley’s aim, especially with Time and the Conways, was not to subtly unwind an intricate plot. Rather, he pushes the audience to reflect on their own decision-making, particularly how they treat others. Each character narrowly pursues their own ambition, painfully ignorant of the consequences their selfish and short-sighted choices will have. Meanwhile, the audience sighs and cringes, knowing the fate that will befall them.
Intrigued? Come watch me get typecast as a kind-hearted and endlessly enthusiastic sister in Time and the Conways: Friday 9th and Saturday 10th of May, 6:00-9:30PM in the Cope Auditorium.
References:
Abdullah, A. R., & Zaid, M. N. (2022). J.B. Priestley’s Time and the Conways: a Feminist Reading. Multicultural Education, 8(5), 25–32.
Bass, F. (2017, July 7). Play Time: Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley. https://francisbass.com/2017/07/07/play-time-time-and-the-conways-by-j-b-priestley/
Billington, M. (2009, May 6). Time and the Conways. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/06/time-conways-review-priestley
Cunningham, K. (2014, April 9). Review: Time and the Conways. San Diego Magazine. https://sandiegomagazine.com/guides/review-time-and-the-conways-2/
Fisher, M. (2013, March 11). Time and the Conways- review. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/mar/11/time-and-the-conways-review
Green, J. (2017, October 10). Review: The Future Is Always Present in ‘Time and the Conways.’ The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/theater/time-and-the-conways-theater-reviewroundabout.html
Edited by Freya Harrod.
