THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR

The corrupt officials of a small Russian town, headed by the equally suspect Mayor, react with despair to the news that an incognito Government Inspector will soon be arriving in their town to investigate them. They panic and there is a flurry of activity to cover up their considerable misdeeds, interrupted by the news that a suspicious person has arrived two weeks previously from Saint Petersburg and is staying at the local inn. Is this the dreaded Inspector?

The Government Inspector is a satirical play, originally published in 1836 by the Russian and Ukrainian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol, here in a newly realised adaptation by playwright Nick Le Mesurier.

Based upon an anecdote allegedly recounted to Gogol by Pushkin, the play is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption of Imperial Russia. Imaginative and with beautifully realised characters and sparkling dialogue, this is a new version not to be missed.