Shades of Mrs Thatcher as An Inspector Calls - Eastbourne dates

The play is at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne from November 12-16 and at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton from January 28-February 1, and Jackie admits it is Margaret Thatcher who comes to mind.

When Inspector Goole arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home, their peaceful dinner party is shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman. His startling revelations shake the very foundations of their lives and challenge us all to examine our consciences.

And yet, as Jackie says, Mrs Birling remains – despite it all – utterly convinced that she has done nothing wrong: “She is immovable. She is stoic when it comes to her ideas of what is right and wrong. She feels that she is helping the community by helping people in greater need through the charity, and that makes her feel very good. But she is incapable of listening to anybody else when it comes to the responsibility that we all must actually share for each other. She reminds me of Mrs Thatcher. Forget the politics but it is Mrs Thatcher’s belief and her certainty, and she is so strong and powerful that you can see that people would believe her. And I think it is the same with Mrs Birling. It's the same charming ‘Oh, hello how lovely to see you’ and the same charming smile, but the smile does not rise to the eyes. Sometimes if I am feeling the need to focus I just think Mrs Thatcher for the way that she stuck to her guns. But I also think Bette Davis and June Crawford for that stillness.”

As for the play: “I think it is a very human play and I think it is also the fact that the characters are so clear cut and so clean. You can see exactly what every character is like. And also of course it is a thriller. The inspector comes in and ruins their family evening. It is certainly ruined for Mrs Birling. It is an enduring play because it is honest and human and true and because it is still happening now. We need to understand we're all part of one society and we are all responsible for each other and we need to learn that. But Mr and Mrs Birling are capitalist to the 100th degree. They are sitting on their pile and they're very pleased with themselves. It was written in 1945 but it is still as true today as it ever was.

“The daughter says ‘You don't seem to have learned anything from the inspector coming here,’ and maybe the daughter will actually learn and veer off in a different direction because she is young. But the mother is reprehensible. She is a prominent member of a women's charitable organisation that decides whether a woman deserves to be helped or not, and, as I say, Mrs Birling is completely immovable and completely convinced she is right.”