

The Government Inspector
Nikolaĭ Vasilʹevich Gogolʹ


What readers are saying
Readers love the intricate construction and humor of the play. It is often praised as a masterpiece in comedy, showcasing exceptional writing and performance.
This is the poet and playwright Adrian Mitchell's version of Gogol's classic satire on human vanity with its story of a penniless nobody from Moscow who is mistaken for a government inspector by the corrupt and self-seeking officials of a small town in Tsarist Russia."The greatest artist that Russia has yet produced" Vladimir Nabokov
"Unrelentingly hilarious…two hours of glorious, unbridled silliness.” —WhatsOnStage. “Devilishly funny adaptation.”—Radio Times. “Patrick Myles has re-imagined Gogol’s THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR solidly in the farce tradition…There are pratfalls galore."
— The Reviews Hub
"A comedy of galumphing, harrumphing hilarity. One part farce, one part slapstick, with a dash of musical theater, this naughty, frothy play is wholly entertaining. A clever, fearless script… the characters feel contemporary in a show where official ignorance and incompetence are compounded by corruption and hubris."
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A first-rate farce. Hatcher is an inspired choice to take a fresh run at this material, not least because his writing is so consistently deft and funny, swinging wildly in tone from one line to the next… a mountain of firecracker witticisms."
— CityPages
"Critic’s Pick! “Corruption, bribery, bottomless vanity, sexual predatoriness and incivility to all, excepting those more powerful than you — such are the ways of human nature in the muddy little backwater in which Gogol’s play is set. This Government Inspector, which uses a freewheeling but spiritually faithful adaptation by the American dramatist Jeffrey Hatcher, reminds us of the cathartic value of exaggerating the already grotesque."
— The New York Times
"…a comedy of galumphing, harrumphing hilarity. One part farce, one part slapstick, with a dash of musical theater, this naughty, frothy play is wholly entertaining…[A] clever, fearless script…[The] characters feel contemporary in a show where official ignorance and incompetence are compounded by corruption and hubris.” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis). “A first-rate farce…Hatcher is an inspired choice to take a fresh run at this material, not least because his writing is so consistently deft and funny, swinging wildly in tone from one line to the next…a mountain of firecracker witticisms."
— CityPages
| Character |
|---|
Osip His servant |
Anton Antonovich The mayor |
Anna Andreyevna His wife |
Marya Antonovna Their daughter |
Grusha Their maid |
Judge |
School Principal |
Hospital Director |
Postmaster |
Dobchinsky |
Bobchinsky |
Doctor |
Innkeeper’S Wife |
Waitress |
Svetsunov Police chief |
Constables |
Abdullin |
Pentelaeyev |
Chernyaeyev |
Corporal’S Widow |
Locksmith’S Wife |
Imperial Messenger |
Ivan Alexandreyevich Hlestakov |
Studio 58 presents a scene from The Government Inspector
The Government Inspector is a Russian comedy play written by Nikolai Gogol and published by Methuen in London (2001).
Digital editions available on Amazon Kindle.
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Paperback
Methuen · 2001 · 112 pp
From C$15.11 total
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