The Government Inspector

Let’s get this production’s weaknesses out of the way.  The plot-within-a-plot convolutions in the play’s first two-thirds were rarely entirely unpredictable, and the conversation was mostly uninspired; and, with more work, the direction of the play within the play could have been far more entertaining in its deliberate weakness than it was.

That’s not to say that the play was tedious.  But the production’s first two-thirds seemed to presage a predictable course to the finish, its mostly unsurprising action and mildly pedestrian lines leaving the actors looking as though perhaps they had genuinely—as claimed at its opening—pulled the entire script together in a tearing hurry rather than having plotted and schemed it into existence.

That that claim of hurried invention was merely part of the entertainment became patently obvious, though, in the final third, when the production transformed in nature.  I want to give nothing away, so will just say that the action became riveting and that even the lines took on a surprising quality.  The final section really swept away the banality of the first two-thirds.

Even the earlier part was enjoyable; it included plenty of funny moments, the complexities of characters’ playing other characters adding to its charm.  The many scene changes throughout, taking best advantage of modern stage technology, were remarkable in their simplicity, effectiveness, and even humour.  And speech was surprisingly clear considering that its amplification was not obvious to the ear.

You could do far worse for an evening of light fun.

John P. Harvey

Images: top [L–R] Zahra Newman, Fayssal Bazzi, Greg Stone, Robert Menzies, and Eryn Jean Norvill & (lower) Fayssal Bazzi, Zahra Newman, Robert Menzies, Eryn Jean Norvill, Greg Stone and Gareth Davies. Photo: Pia Johnson.