The Inspector General

In Gogol's satirical masterpiece, a provincial town's corrupt officials mistake a bumbling clerk, Khlestakov, for a feared inspector general. Their collective panic and sycophancy lead to absurd attempts to bribe and impress him, while Khlestakov exploits the error for personal gain, culminating in a devastating revelation of their folly.

The play opens with the Governor and local officials panicking over the imminent arrival of an incognito inspector general. They scramble to conceal their corruption, but their efforts are futile when they encounter Khlestakov, a penniless clerk from St. Petersburg, at the local inn. Mistaking him for the inspector, the Governor offers him a bribe, which Khlestakov readily accepts. Soon, Khlestakov is wined and dined, and he revels in the mistaken identity, boasting wildly about his life in the capital, his literary fame, and his high rank. He accepts 'loans' from officials and merchants, and even proposes to the Governor's daughter, Marya, before hastily departing. The Governor and his wife dream of social advancement, but their triumph is shattered when the postmaster reveals a letter Khlestakov wrote to a friend, mocking the town's officials and exposing their stupidity. As they read the letter aloud, a gendarme arrives announcing the real inspector general, leaving the characters frozen in a silent tableau of shock and despair.