THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR. To 31 March.

London

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR
by Nicolai Gogol

Theatre de l'Ange Fou at Pleasance Theatre To 31 March 2002
Wed-Sat 7.30pm Sun 5pm
Runs 2hr 5min One interval

TICKETS 020 7609 1800
Review Timothy Ramsden 28 March

Outstanding theatricality expresses the living soul of Gogol's anti-corruption comedy.Physical theatre taking on a classic text isn't always a cause for rejoicing. When a play's long enough anyway physical invention, if it's not to lead to elephantiasis, means saying goodbye to much of the script.

There are exceptions, like Theatre de Complicite's The Visit a few years back. L'Ange Fou dismiss all but a few script fragments of Gogol's satirical fantasy. Yet their new show well earns a place among the exceptional few, creating a small-town crowd of corrupt, complacent officials whose grotesque looks and actions capture Gogol's spirit magnificently.

They begin where his play ends – with the letter which reveals the stranger they've all been cosseting and bribing isn't after all the man from the ministry with important connections and the power to have them all locked up, just a penniless clerk who's ripped them off for all they had.

The moment these local worthies emerge from under the great bed which dominates the stage, and wriggle till they occupy it in an acquisitive muddle, it's apparent directors Wasson and Soum have matched the style of their teacher Etienne Decroux with the madness of Gogol's 19th century Russian backwater.

They've added an angelic pair, whose mission is to shape the characters' lusts and follies into plot-mode. Gogol has the local postmaster open the revealing letter as a matter of prying course. Here, the angels weave the document around the populace to land it in his pocket.

At times, these images of municipal excess are played against spacially distorted film of politicians speaking and an army marching from what looks like the early Soviet period. It's as if the Mayor - who rules the town in the shapes of inflated, snout-nosed twins - when he turns against his critics among the poor is nudging his society towards its eventual doom.

Probably it's best to know something of Gogol's play to see the most in this show and how its spirited whirl of grey-eyed caricatures relates to the overall point. But, for anyone, the sheer exhilaration and inventiveness of the 15-strong company provides a stimulating production which must, surely, be around for considerably longer than its five Pleasance performances.

Cast:Pieter Van Zyl
Oscar Valsecchi
Stephanie Levy
Veronika Genz
Sophie Kasser
Igor de Quadra
Aude Marie Tournay
Kentaro Suyama
Olivier Decriaud
Djamilia Taulelle
Georgie Morgan
Yong Chul Kim
Jong Yeoun Yoon
Erika Cuk
Lionel Comellas

Directors: Steven Wasson, Corinne Soum
Design/Costume: Theatre de l'Ange Fou
Lighting: Matthew Britten
Video: Shadow Film Ltd

2002-03-29 11:06:38