We never meet the heroine of this famous play. Neither do we know the Inspector.

What we see is a marvellous performance by The Brighton Little Theatre Company: what we understand is the passionate denouncement of an outmoded hierarchy.

In a breathtaking coup de theatre, Priestley allows a ghostly conscience to operate with varying degrees of success.

Will tragedy change Arthur’s fixation with profit and status? Alan Baker’s ‘hardheaded man of business’ occupies centre stage with huge voice, powerful presence - and unalterable opinions.

Can Sybil’s ‘charity’ actually mean anything? Glenys Harries-Rees nicely portrays a suitably refined and most unsympathetic character.

Young Birlings Sheila and brother Eric learn decency, depth and democracy in rounded depiction by Kitty Fox Davis and Tobias Clay while Sheila’s fiancé Myles Locke sits nervously between tradition, honesty and his future wife.

Paul Morley commands from majestic height and in sombre suit, mysterious but authoritative. His message is plain: nothing matters but the truth.

In a plain and unchanging set, the chair covers feature chessmen, symbols of power games and masculine conquest.

Times and dates have changed since the play, written in 1945 and set in 1912, but a good and gripping story remains.