Government Inspector

By Nikolai Gogol in a version by David Harrower
Directed by Alan Park

“It’s not good, gentlemen. That’s why I’ve gathered you all here. An Inspector is coming…a Government Inspector!”

News of the imminent arrival of a government inspector from St Petersburg sends the bumbling bureaucrats of a small provincial town into a panicked frenzy, and not without just cause; incompetence, unethical practices and commonplace corruption thrive.

At the same time, an idiotic aristocratic stranger arrives in town. Fearing discovery of their corrupt goings-on, the townsfolk do all they can to ingratiate themselves with the new arrival, assuming him to be the forewarned inspector. Bribes abound and the stranger, who has an eye for a quick buck, takes full advantage, with hilarious results.

We return to Theatre@41 with Nikolai Gogol’s satirical masterpiece – an uproarious comedy of misdeeds, misadventure and mistaken identity.

CAST

Khlestakov | Andrew Roberts
Osip | Paul French Mayor | Mike Hickman
Anna, The Mayor’s Wife | Alison Taylor
Maria | Pearl Mollison
Dobchinsky | Katie Leckey
Bobchinksy | Sonia Di Lorenzo
Judge (Lyapkin Tapkin) | Maggie Smales
Postmaster | Matt Pattison
Head of Hospitals (Zemlyanika) | Mark Simmonds
School Superintendent (Khlopov) | Paul Osborne
Police Superintendent/Shopkeeper | Adam Sowter
Mishka/Shopkeeper | Flo Poskitt
Dr Gibner/Shopkeeper/Locksmith’s Wife | Alexandra Mather

Town band | Jim Paterson, Matt Pattison, Flo Poskitt, Adam Sowter

This amateur production of Government Inspector is presented by arrangement with Casarotto Ramsay & Associates Limited.