L'inspector

Nikolai Gógol

Theatre The most amusing comedy of this season comes to us from Russia in a free version by Jordi Galceran directed by Sergi Belbel. Considered the best play written by Nikolai Gogol and an undisputed masterpiece of satirical drama, L’inspector ironically portrays the stupidity, greed and banality of the officials and senior officials in the Russian provinces. When the news arrives that an inspector is coming to make a visit incognito, Anton, the chief of police, hurries to clean up the city. The local police try to hide all the evidence of blackmailing, and everyone together prepares an idyllic scene to receive the government delegate. Meanwhile, Ivan Khlestakov, a fly-by-night, player and swindler, arrives with his servant, Ossip, from Saint Petersburg, and the local people take him for someone else, thinking that he is the feared inspector. Naturally, it all leads to a series of unlikely and hilarious situations. Performed for the first time in 1836 with the blessing of Tsar Nicolas I, the premiere of L’inspector caused such a stir that Gogol had to flee Saint Petersburg. More than 170 years later and coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birth, the work has not lost its relevance, and the scathing criticism Gogol makes of the hypocrisy and corruption of power is unfortunately still pertinent today.