THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR Announced at The Little Theatre

A staged reading of Gogol's hilarious tale of bureaucratic bungles, The Government Inspector opens in the Little Theatre on Thursday 2nd April and runs for two nights only."

Gogol's famous comedy centres around Khlestakov, a young empty-headed lowly registry clerk, who is mistaken for the dreaded government inspector. The action spans two days in the lives of the townspeople as they unwittingly move to the discovery of their foolish mistake. To create his set of delightfully grotesque characters Gogol later wrote that he decided to take everything bad that he knew about Russia at that time and bring it together into one heap. And against the widespread criticism that the play had no positive hero he countered that the honest and noble character in the play was laughter.

Director Alexander Kirk and Designer Lilia Nadyrshine have written a new translation which is guaranteed to keep the laughs coming.

Life has been good for the officials of a provincial Russian town. Extortion, bribery, neglect of duties and purposeful mismanagement have been thriving for many years. But suddenly their way of life is threatened by the news that an Imperial government official is travelling incognito on a secret mission to investigate their district.

On hearing the news, the Town Governor instructs the Warden of Charities, the Doctor, the Judge, the Police Chief and all other officials to get their departments in order. Nightcaps must be clean and fewer patients are to lie in the hospital, hunting whips are to be removed from the Courthouse, lawyers must not smell of vodka, and the school teachers, no doubt very clever people, must contain themselves and not break up chairs in animated excitement.

The Government Inspector, written in 1836, is firmly established in the Russian repertoire and has never left the world stage. To create his set of delightfully grotesque characters, Gogol later wrote that he decided to take everything bad that he knew about Russia at that time and bring it together into one heap to create a satire not just on corrupt officialdom, but of Man himself.

Director Alexander Kirk said "Working with Lilia Nadyrshine, graduate of the Moscow University of Architecture, on the translation, our intention was to recapture Gogol's original Russian play with all its peculiar rhythms and tones as faithfully as possible. I am also delighted that Associate Professor Dr Les Koopowitz, Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, will be Consultant to the presentation."

The Theatre Guild is delighted to open its 2020 season with a staged reading of this hilarious classic, performed with a minimum of setting to suggest period, drawing on stage practices most connecting actor and audience.

Cast: Wayne Anthoney, Laura Antoniazzi, Alejandra Arbe Montoya, Chris Best, Geoff Dawes, Gabi Douglas, Katherine Edmond, Nicholas Elborough, Phil Grummet, Alexander Kirk, Brian Knott, Les Koopowitz, Simon Lancione, Roland Lever, Philip Lineton, Emma O-Connell-Doherty, Jack Robins, April Slomiany & Camilla Wolfe-Barry.

For more information visit www.trybooking.com/BGSOH.

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