Q 01/05

Because no London theatre was free, in which country did An Inspector Calls have its 1945 premiere?

A) The Soviet Union

B) The United States

C) Switzerland

D) The Netherlands

Answer · why

A) The Soviet Union

The Soviet Union staged it first, in productions by Moscow's Kamerny Theatre and Leningrad's Comedy Theatre, more than a year before the Old Vic compa...

Q 02/05

Which brand-new liner does Arthur Birling hold up at dinner as proof of unstoppable progress?

A) The Lusitania

B) The Titanic

C) The Mauretania

D) The Olympic

Answer · why

B) The Titanic

The Titanic, 'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable' in Birling's words, sank on 15 April 1912, so a 1946 London audience heard the boast as proof of how ...

Q 03/05

Which member of the dinner party does Inspector Goole question last?

A) Sybil Birling

B) Eric Birling

C) Gerald Croft

D) Sheila Birling

Answer · why

B) Eric Birling

Eric Birling is questioned last: he walks back in just after his mother has insisted that whoever got Eva pregnant must take the blame, unwittingly pa...

Q 04/05

Roughly how long did J. B. Priestley take to write An Inspector Calls?

A) About a week

B) About three months

C) About a year

D) About four years

Answer · why

A) About a week

About a week is the usual account, and Priestley himself put it at 'about ten days'; even so, no London theatre was free that season, so the play open...

Q 05/05

What had Eva Smith swallowed to kill herself, according to Inspector Goole?

A) Disinfectant

B) Laudanum

C) Rat poison

D) Sleeping tablets

Answer · why

A) Disinfectant

Disinfectant is the detail the Inspector opens with, and Birling later mimics him mockingly ('She drank some strong disinfectant') once he has decided...