Government Inspector (2009)

23rd May

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	Breaking the Code My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Lowe The Government Inspector Review Greenroom Constitution & Photos of the Government Inspector The Government Inspector & Interview with Ian Nichols Let Loose this weekend Do schools today kill creativity? (Sir Ken Robinson) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Director interview & Set Construction Nomads Theatre Tour First Annie video diary entry

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Government Inspector (2009)

Production Type
Nomads Production

Production Location
Main Theatre

User Rating: (Awaiting votes)

Production Dates & Prices: (Please note Booking Information)



Date	Time	Price
Tuesday 10th March 2009	8:00pm	£11.00
Wednesday 11th March 2009	8:00pm	£11.00
Thursday 12th March 2009	8:00pm	£11.00
Friday 13th March 2009	8:00pm	£11.00
Saturday 14th March 2009	8:00pm	£11.00

Official Review:

GOGOL'S The Government Inspector. March 13th 2009

Traditionally, Friday 13th is considered unlucky. For those of us seated in The Nomad Theatre on that evening the absolute reverse was true. We were exposed to the most brilliantly funny and skilfully executed performance of this rarely performed play.

The opening moments revealed a beautiful Palladian style room set. We had only a few moments in which to appreciate it, before it was filled with a growing crowd of players, all in full period dress, to-ing and fro-ing with huge energy and setting the scene for what we immediately knew would be a comedy.

This, of course, is no ordinary comedy, it is Russian. That means two things. It is long and generally very subtle! In this case not overly subtle since Ian Nicholls had worked every detail of the comic and ironic moments to such a degree that there was not a second when we were not treated to some visual or verbal, side-splitting hilarity. One could look at any character at any moment during the performance and find something of interest to make one smile. This is no mean feat with such a large cast. Director and players deserve warm congratulations.

Such successful performances are undoubtedly the result of very close and happy team work. However, if the play is Russian, it tends to have one or two giant roles on which the whole thing balances. Here again this play ran true to expectation. The Mayor played by John Norris and Khlestakov played by Steve Rowland displayed huge energy and enviable feats of memory in delivering their roles brilliantly while ably supported by the rest of the company. It would be invidious to try to comment individually on any of the other players since they all played with great commitment throughout, creating a plethora of beautifully observed characters . They brought to life every aspect of the town's rather eccentric populations and its life.

We enjoyed meeting them all.

Scene changes are usually "cough and shuffle" pauses. No time for such in this performance. The scene changes were efficient and imaginatively executed. They melted into and became part of the performance. As the set was fairly minimal, it was all rearranged in a flash as and when required. What furnishing there was, was pertinent, stylish and attractive to the eye.

The costume was delightful and worn with a real sense of period. The use of colour was really lovely, enhanced by the lighting, of course. The magenta splashes were particularly effective. The whole performance was enhanced by live and specially written music, something that one normally associates with West End shows.

The company played to an almost full house. It would have had long queues waiting for returns had people really appreciated the treat on offer. This is no ordinary village theatre, no ordinary company of players and no ordinary repertoire. Thank you ALL for a very special evening.

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