The Government Inspector, by Gogol

Small town corruption in Tsarist Russia is the subject of this raucous and clever comedy. Gogol, who had spent a couple of youthful years in the  Civil Service himself, and despised it, wrote that in this satire ‘he decided to gather together into one heap everything rotten in Russia as he saw it, and hold it up to ridicule’. This play never goes out of date, because in our world somewhere, somehow, there are always characters on the make!

We were given an absolutely marvellous programme with an eye-catching front cover, and great design throughout.  A fascinating Director’s Note about Gogol and his times, and about initial reaction to the piece by the Tsar (who was amused), and the censor (who presumably only allowed it because the Tsar had ordered it to be performed). An interesting colour illustration of the St Petersburg of the early 19th Century; a piece on Alistair Beaton whose 2005 adaptation this was; translations of Gogol’s characters’ ludicrous surnames; a jolly half page on the joys and tribulations of Open-Air Theatre, all greatly enhanced our enjoyment of the play. I think one should never underestimate the pleasure an informative and entertaining programme provides. Guildburys have always understood this, and theirs are always of the highest quality.

The set design was stunning.  A huge portrait of Tsar Nicholas I centre stage, portals to the left and right. Atop the left-hand one were the most delightful 3D model village buildings – churches, town hall, villas, cottages, onion towers the lot – very reminiscent of Chagall’s paintings of his native town Vitebsk. What is more, once darkness fell we saw that the windows twinkled with light.  Congratulations are due to the designers Ian Nichols and Graham Russell-Price.

Props were many: blacksmith’s anvil and hammer; carpet beater; brooms galore; a stonemason’s chisel; a cart full of turnips; a little black book; a hip flask; baskets of wine in old fashioned bottles. Great attention to detail with both set and props – another Guildburys’ strength.

Once again, as well as set, props, and so much else, costumes were an integral part of the success of this production. The one that stood out for me, and fascinated me throughout, was the tartan affair sported by the Postmistress, complete with nifty cap. But so many costumes caught the eye: Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky; the Mayor in all his splendour; his ladies in various gorgeous creations; the Commissioner for Health and Korobkin a dignatory in bright red; Mishka the servant in some lovely peasant tunics; the other servant Avdotya, long gown she was always in danger of tripping over.  So many little details, intriguing headwear, colour co-ordination, splendid!  A riot of colour, a delight to the eye.

There was a lively and mad musical introductory dance, which set the scene for this small-town community. Sound was very important throughout, and marvellously well done. So imaginative, lots off-stage, lots of magnification to aid effect. Once again – attention to detail. We had echo effects; the sound of stomachs gurgling; cocks crowing; anvils and chisels banging; a carpet beater bashing; brooms sweeping, and much much more. And all added greatly to the comedy and the atmosphere.

This was an astoundingly good production, even by Guildburys’ high standards. A rollicking tour de force – ideal for the open air, and bound to wow audiences when it transfers to the Minack Theatre, Cornwall, in August. There was nothing amiss, not a single performance to criticise in the whole evening - each cast member excelled, from the lead roles, down to the townspeople. Director Ian Nichols must have worked so hard with his large cast to make it look so easy – it must have been terribly complicated co-ordinating all those people, and producing all those comedic moments, spot on time. It is, of course, a cracking play – timeless, Russian, yet could take place anywhere. So it is fascinating both from a historical small-town Russia point of view (costumes!), but also as its themes of bribery, corruption, gullibility, self-serving bureaucrats, downtrodden lower orders, and even mother/daughter rivalry, make it still so relevant today, and rightly deserving of constant re-appearances on our stage.

What was so stunning here was the number of brilliant cameo performances. These people were made real by the excellent character acting of the team. I will mention a few:  Pam Hemelryk made me laugh out loud, and was barely recognisable as the bent up old servant Avdotya, shuffling around the stage, precariously bearing trays full of bone china, smacking her toothless chops, so funny! Diane Nichols, in her wonderful tartan dress and cap, was our rather touching, vodka loving postmistress, steaming open letters (of course!), vulnerable, nosy, such a rounded character one almost felt one knew her. Howard Benbrook, the Director of Education Khlopov, flapping around in his teacher’s gown, always in a panic. Gilly Fick, the Commissioner for Health, in other words a dodgy nurse in charge of the hospital with no beds, had a wonderful way of sucking in her breath, and one could sense her self-obsessed scheming. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, our ‘identical twin’ dopey landowners, were played to perfection by Paul Baverstock and Eddie Woolrich,  always either claiming the credit or blaming the other.

The terrified Mayor, normally a master of corruption and ‘ruler’ over the town, was played with both bombast and wheedling creepiness by Robert Sheppard. His flirtatious wife (Laura Sheppard) was determined to outdo her pretty daughter (Issy Arnett), and this pair produced some fine moments too.

Our ‘hero’ Khlestakov, the minor civil servant mistaken for the fear-inducing ‘Government Inspector’ was superbly played by Jason Orbaum, and that initial scene where he was visited by the Mayor and entourage, and gradually realised his lucky situation, and how he could take advantage of it, was masterful. A strange kind of creepy choreography between him and the mayor – bowing and scraping, arms akimbo, inclinations of the head, then pennies dropping! Marvellous, I could watch it every day! Last but by no means least, Osip, the ‘Inspector’s’ servant, first exasperated then delighted, with various other emotions in between, was played with comic skill by Graham Russell-Price. A great foil to his master.

An evening full of pep, vim, bezazz, laugh out loud characterisation, wry chuckles, noises an integral part of the fun, costumes to bedazzle us. There was so much to enjoy in this superb 10-star production.

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