One of the funniest satirical comedies ever written,
The Government Inspector
mocks the moral littleness of those who hold power and consider themselves untouchable. Written in 1836, the play is tragically more relevant today than one might imagine. In an ordinary town of the Russian province, news of an inspector general's visit alarms officials and notables. It will be necessary to conceal the dysfunction of public administration and prevent inefficiency and dishonesty from surfacing. The uproar is such that a passing young man is mistaken for the mysterious inspector. Honored by all and enticed by increasingly brazen offers of money, he exploits the situation as much as he can and vanishes just before the misunderstanding is discovered and the arrival of the real inspector is announced.