Gogol: Government Inspector - Paperback

by Nikolai Vasil'evich Gogol (Author), W. Harrison (Editor)

Revizor is the great comic masterpiece of nineteenth- century Russian theatre. Its central role, that of Khlestakov - the opportunistic yarn-spinner who is mistaken by provincial officials for a government inspector from St. Petersburg - has attracted performances from such western comic actors as Danny Kaye, Tony Hancock and Rick Mayall, as well as mainstays of the Russian theatre. This sweeping satire of Russian bureaucratic life directs its message, conveyed in apocalyptic undertones, at audiences from all backgrounds.

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The theatrical genius of Nikolay Gogol has gone largely unappreciated by English-speaking audiences because pedantically literal translations have left his plays virtually unperformable. These fresh translations restore the vitality of Gogol's language and humor, finally allowing his dramatic art to speak directly to Western readers, directors, actors, and theater-goers. This volume contains The Government Inspector and Marriage - Gogol's greatest full-length plays, comedic cornerstones of the Russian theatrical repertoire - and a one-act satire, The Gamblers. Also included are writings on theater from Gogol's notebooks and correspondences.