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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Selwyn House School http://www.archive.org/details/governmentinspecOOselw The Selwyn House Senior Players Present THE 9#ilRNMENT INSPECTOR " By Nikolai Directed by Alex Ivcmo 29 & May April 30, 1 8:00 $M. C^ 95, St-Antoine About the Play Nikolai Gogol (1809-52) Many Russian writers ofthe nineteenth century are known for their prose - Tolstoy, Turgenev, Pisemsky, Saltikov-Shchedrin - also wrote for the stage. Nikolai Gogol, one ofthe finest comic authors ofworld literature, and perhaps one ofits most accomplished nonsense writers, pursued a career more like that ofChekhov. He was not a fiill-time novelist making an occasional foray into another medium, bringing along the esthetic imperatives ofhis major concerns. As a pupil he aaed and directed plays from the classical repertoire and was, without exception, considered a great comic actor and a superb reader - the theater became an absorbing interest. He thought himself both a dramatist and a writer ofprose fiaion, bringing to each a creative lightning forwhich he is revered. His plays were as innovativeashis fiaion, andhave proved as durable. Acommon metaphorforGogol's careerhas been thatofacomet, burstingon the scene, burning itselfout quickly, but transforming the configuration of Russian literary culture. His essential literan,' corpus was conceived, written or begun in an eight year period (1829-36) and produced only three finished plays, relatively litde prose fiction, a score ofshort stories and an incomplete novel. Gogol is best known for his short stories, for his play Revisor (1836; The Government Inspector, or The Inspector General) and forMyortvyedushi (1842; DeadSouls), a prose narrative that is never theless subtideda "poem." Nos(1836; TheNose), aparableonthefailureofall explanator)'s)^stems, relates an utterly inexplicable incidentand the attempts tocome to terms with it. Both Shinel (1842; The Overcoat), which is probably the most influential Russian shon story, and Zapiski sumasshedshego (1835; The Diary ofa Madman) mix pathos and mockery in an amazing display. As in Nevskyprospekt (1835; Nevsky Avenue) and Povest o torn, kakpossorilsya Ivan Ivanovich s Ivanom Nikiforovichem (1835; The Tale ofHow Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich), language itselfseems to generate its own absurd content while the universe turns out to be a counterfeit ofwhich there is no original. Charaaeristic of Gogolisasenseofboundlesssuperfluitythatissoonrevealedas utteremptinessanda rich comedy that suddenly turns into metaphysical horror. The government Inspeaor develops a sequence of (witting and unwitting) confidence games within confidence games in a corruptworld ofendless self-deception. The mock-epic, even mock-satire, DeadSouls, simultaneouslyallegorizes thetimelessbureaucratictendency to makeofficial documentation moregenuine than actualexistence, the emptiness of the human soul, and the mind's absurdways ofgrasping meaning orvalue. It is one ofthe most striking (and most Gogolian) ironies of Russian fiterary history that radicalcriticscelebratedGogolasa realist. 2 p. Although much ofhis writing resulted from bursts ofinspiration, Gogol was also a meticulous craftsman, advising writers to dash offtheir projects hastily, even carelessly, and then go back to them at periodical intervals (ideally eight times!), and his manuscripts attest numerous revisions. The plays imderwent more extensive reworking than anyofhis shortstories. On October 7, 1835, Gogol implored Pushkin to send him "an authentically Russian anecdote" upon which he would, he promised, knock offa comedy "fiinnier than hell." in less than two months perhaps Russia's greatest play and one ofthe great comedies oftheworld's repertoirewas completed. Studies oftheoriginal manuscripts of The GovernmentInspectorhave led scholars to believe that itwas written in several days offeverish activity. Less than a year later, the play opened at the Imperial Dramatic Theater in St. Petersburg on May 1, 1836, bewildering the fashionable audience. Was this a farce? Was this a satire on provincial manners? Was it a libel on certain individuals? Because the play depicted the endemic corruption and incompetence of Russian officialdom, itsurprised oneand allwhen itwas passed bythe theatrical censor. Rumor had it, Nicholas I, who had Utde confidence in his subordinates, consented in order to have the opportunity to watch them squirm. The Tsar's presence at opening night brought out the important dignitaries ofstate and the beau monde ofthe capital, whowerescandalized bywhattheytookas an affront to good taste (itwas called adirty play!) and a slander on Holy Russia. The reaction in Moscow was similar, leading someone to ask the actor Shchepkin, who played the mayor, what else he expected whenhalftheaudiencewas on thetakeandtheotherhalfwasgreasingpalms. Forthose disaffected by the status quo, the work crystallized everything they hated about Russia ("contemporary Russia's terrible confession," Herzen called it) and they claimed Gogol as their own. However, Gogol's age was one ofburgeoning criticism ofsociety from a conservative aswell as radical position, and in time it became clear thathewas closerto the nostalgic Slavophiles than the forward looking westerners. It is difficult to saywhat disturbed the soon-to-be apologist ofpatriarchal Russia more: the censure ofthe right or the embraces ofthe left. The hypersensitive Gogol was in despair. He complained that the production had pervened his intentions and, onJime 6, 1836, in the midst of the uproar, hescurriedawayfrom Russiatospendmostofthenexttwelveyears in exile, much ofit in his beloved Rome. During those many years, he revised the comedy, composed instructions for the actors, wrote dramatic sketches to explain its meaning and eventually insisted it was a morality play, its charaaers representing Human Vices and the Inspeaor, the Conscience. But by this time he was hopelesslyat odds with his creative impulses. One ofthe world's greatest comic writers yearned to be an edifying preacher. In his later life Gogol came under the influence ofa fanatical priest, Father Konstantinovskii, and burned sequels forDeadSouls, just 10 days before he died on the vergeofmadness on March 4, 1852. His careerwound up asablackcomedyin itsown right. p.3 Cast TheJudge AlexisAsselin Waiter Alex Black Mishka Chris Bryson Bobchinsky Matt Busbridge Korobkin Henry Buszard Director ofCharities Sam Carsley Superintendent ofSchools James Govan Khlestakov Jacob Harris Storekeeper Philip Hospod Postmaster Ned Maloney Osip Theo McLauchlin Cop Christian Meguerditch Doctor Hiibner Philipp Menzel Storekeeper DannyNaami Lyiilyukov Philip Oliver 4 p. Cop Chris Politis Dobchinsky Gurinder Samrai Rastakovsky Alex San Gregorio The Mayor Daniel Wilner The Homeless Man Eitan Yane Corporal's Widow Elizabeth Campbell (TheStudy) Locksmith's Wife Hannah Eichenwald (Trafalgar) Superintendent's Wife Kate Fletcher (TheStudy) AnnaAndreyevna-Mayor's Wife Kaitlyn Riordan (TheStudy) Korobkin's Wife Sara Schlemn (TheStudy) MaryaAntononovna-Mayor's Daughter VanessaTobin (EA.C.E.) Musical Director James Darling Musicians: Clarinet Thomas Evans Guitar Tim Dobby & Keyboard Programming David Knecht Percussion Max Knecht p. 5 Crew Production Director Alex Ivanovici SetDesign Robin Paterson LightingDesign Robin Paterson CostumeDesign Heidi Van Regan AssistantDirector &StageManager Dave Cameron Stage & TechnicalCrew Robin Paterson David Cameron Keith Woods Alex Ivanovici Caspar Brabant Philip Oliver Henry Buszard Jonas Bouchard LightingBoardOperator Roberto Gomez Make-up Virginia Ferguson Emily Beckerleg, Lis Clemens, Lisa Gardhouse, Elizabeth Maloney, Najwa Sallman, Pina Salusbury, Maria Tratt, Mary Ellen Viau, Lorayne Winn & Programme, Ticket PosterDesign, andPhotography Maria Tratt & ArtworkforPoster Tickets Sam Carsley & Tickets HouseManagement Brenda Montgomery 6 p. & Acknowledgements Thanks Stephanie Baptist CentaurTheatre Marc Krushelnyski Christine Krushelnyski George Diaz Mardo Hernandez Wilham MitcheU Robin Paterson Annabel Soutar MaryThomas Simplicio Urgel Jim Cousins Jean Baillargeon MariaTratt Jaime McMillan Mary Ellen Viau & Virginia Ferguson her make-up team Rob Wearing Trafalgar School Kathy Biggs Matilde Codina Sue-Anne Pham Brenda Montgomery James Darling Keith Woods Caspar Brabant Jonas Bouchard MacNamara Jossette Sylvie Bastien-Doss MarshaWarmuth Eliot Smith Leah Vineberg Carol Manning FaceTheatre Department 7 p. " Director's Notes No USE BLAMINGTHEMIRKOR IF\OURFACEISCROOKED -A Proverb Likemostgreatplays, Nikolai Gogol's TheGovernmentInspector, anineteenth century Russian masterpiece, still resonates in Canadaon theeveofa newmillennium. One need not look\cryfarthesedays to find examples ofthesocial ills it portrays: deep corruption, shallowself-interestand blindmaterialism. Ithasbeen agreatchallenge for TheSelwyn HouseSeniorPlayersto identifytheseelementshonestlywithin theirown contemporar)'realityin orderto bringlife toan imaginaryRussian village. Gogol's play presents uswith acontextwhichwecan casuallydismissas ancienthistory. Its feudal commimityiseasilydisguisedas thesocialandpoliticalantithesisofourscrupulous moderndemocracies. Such amaskedvision, however, tends toobscurethehuman mirror we useto navigatebetween the presentand thepast. The mirrorofwhich I speak isartin all its forms: theatre, literature, music, visual arts, dance, andtodayahostofelectronicmediathatbombardusvdthimages of ourselves. Artists in all thesedifferent fields arefacedwith thesamequestion: 'howcan I re-direa mylens in orderto bouncereality's beam?' In thetwentieth century, this question is perenniallyon ourminds as ever-more-efficientcameras, taperecordersand computerchips run aftrerourlives. Theanxietyofkeepingupappearancesinsidetoday's boundless fi-ames can preventus fi-om noticingtheviolenceofourpace. Dowetakethe time to recognizeourselves duringthedailyhimian race? Puttingonaplayabout thepastisnotmerelyan attempttokeepitforeverrelevant tothepresent. Theatre's temporaltranspositionsprovideperformersandaudiencesalike with a rareoppormnityforperspective. InthecaseofTheGovernmentInspector, we may considerthis potentiallysuffocatingmoral ultimamm fromadistance: Ifwedo not face art's imaginaryproblemsandcallthemourown, ourchildren mayinheritourmasks insteadofourwisdom. Ifthissoundsalitdedarkforan introduction toacomedyit'sbecause, as Gogolputsit: "Wehaveturnedthetheaterintoaplaything, somethinglikearattleusedtoentice children,forgettingthatitisarostrum (aplatformforpublicspeaking)from whichaliving lesson isspoken toan entiremultitude, aplacewhere, in thepresenceoffestivebrilliant lighting, thunderingmusicandgenerallaughter, secretviceshowsitsfaceandelevated emotions, timidlyhiddenfrom view, makethemselvesknown beforehushedmurmursof commonsympathy. The Selw)'n HouseSenior Players, Robin Paterson, HeidiVan Regan,James Darling and I wouldliketowelcomeyou into themadworldofGogol's nineteenthcentury provincial Russia. Laydownyour masksaswedoourbestto fill thefiinhousemirror with truth, laughter, surprisesand fear. Wishingyouan enjoyableevening, Alex Ivanovici p. 8