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Artscene Inspector Calls a socialist viewpoint By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 13 B rian Banyard has landed a major role as a character that is hard-to-be-liked, but the Oakville amateur actor is up to the task. "It's nicer to act a role where you're liked, but it's reasonably interesting. There are not layers and layers on this fellow. I think he's quite shallow," said the 60-year-old actor of his role. However, he adds, "The role is kind of interesting because it develops as you interact with the other characters. You relate to it almost by reaction. That's how I relate to it." Banyard will perform in the Oakville Players' production of An Inspector Calls. The production runs at The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts March 4-13. The play, written in 1944, is set in 1912 England, just after heavy industrialization occurred. The action begins with the discovery of the body of a young woman who has committed suicide. A rich family is being questioned about it by a police inspector. "It's an interesting commentary on the social fabric of the time," Banyard said of the play. "It was written by (J.B.) Priestly who was a staunch socialist, so it's commentary on everything that he thought was wrong with British society at the time." Banyard is British himself. He moved to Canada more than 30 years ago and settled in Oakville. He's an amateur actor and in An Inspector Calls, he plays the family patriarch, Mr. Birling. "He doesn't come from old money, he comes from money that's he's made and he's probably married to someone above his social station," Banyard said of his character. "These aren't especially nice people, they're all very self-centred and that's what this whole play is about really." David Nash, director and co-producer, is using a cast that is all new to The Oakville Players. Despite the new faces, he praised the actors' work and noted the set and costumes are fabulous for this production. ERIC RIEHL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER NOT SO LIKEABLE: Brian Banyard rehearses a scene from An Inspector Calls, a play that is a commentary on British society of the early 1900s. The production, being staged by The Oakville Players at the Oakville Centre for Performing Arts, opens tomorrow (Thursday). "I'm not a socialist so I found it quite challenging," Nash said of the play. "It's interesting to get into somebody else's head and to have a different perspective. It is really a piece, I wouldn't say propaganda, but it certainly is presenting that situation in a socialist light." He added that despite the writer's political viewpoints, the play is still very entertaining and it offers a level of mystery, too. "I'm hoping the play will challenge some of the viewers' thinking," he said. "I'm hoping it will raise questions that will not be answered during the evening, but that people can think about and talk about with other people who've come to see the play." The production runs March 4 to 6 at 8 p.m.; March 7 at 2 p.m. and March 10-13 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $27 for the evening shows and $22 for the Sunday, March 7 matinée. The Centre is located at 130 Navy St. For tickets, visit www.oakvillecentre.ca.