Valery Fokin, who is rightfully considered one of the leading experts in the creative legacy of Nikolai Gogol, addresses The Inspector General for the third time to date. Nevertheless, this project at the Alexandrinsky Theatre is something quite special, for it was on this very stage that Gogol’s immortal comedy was presented for the first time on the 19th of April, 1836, with Gogol himself taking an active part in the legendary play’s staging. The current production is the tenth Alexandrinsky version of The Inspector General.
In this production, three archetypes take their legitimate place at the head of the performance. The first consists of historical images from the original premiere, the second of reminiscences from Vsevolod Meyerhold’s brilliant production staged at the State Meyerhold Theatre in 1926, and the third, obviously, of reflections from Petersburg itself – and not only from Gogol’s Petersburg, but from the contemporary city as well, revealing to us both its sublimity and sarcastic grimaces. The birth of absurdity from the spirit of regular life - that is the trick which lies in wait for many people today, deceived by the idea that vice and impunity can rule the world. For it is in this sense that Gogol’s brilliant comedy can be regarded as a ‘state’ play.
The production is a laureate of the State Prize of Russia, the Golden Mask National Theatre Awards, and St. Petersburg’s highest theatrical award, the Golden Sofit.

The premiere was held on 10/05/2002
Performance duration: 2 h. 30 min.

Staged by:
Direction — Valery Fokin
Scene Design and Costuming — Alexander Borovsky.

Performed by:
Aleksei Devotchenko, Vitaly Kovalenko, Sergei Parshin, Viktor Smirnov, Nikolai Marton, Mikhail Dolginin, Igor Volkov, Ilya Noskov, Pavel Yurinov, Geliy Sysoev, Vadim Romanov, Evgeny Kapitonov, Vadim Nikitin, Konstantin Filchenkov, Valentin Zakharov, Vladimir Mironov, Vladimir Lisetsky, Alexander Anisimov, Vladislav Ryndin, Sergey Yelikov, Alexander Kudrenko, Svetlana Smirnova, Elena Zimina, Yana Lakoba, Kira Petrova, Elena Lipets, Svetlana Sheichenko, Tamara Kolesnikova, Marina Gavrilova, Elena Gladkova, Yulia Marchenko, Konstantin Filchenkov, Valentin Zakharov, Ivan Parshin, Yulia Sokolova, Vladislav Ryndin, Igor Mamai.