Are you sure you know Gogol’s Government Inspector well? Better listen up. You know you’re going to get the Mayor, Khlestakov, and the famous “Whom are you laughing about? You are laughing about yourselves!”: all the pieces building the jigsaw of the epitome of a classic Russian comedy of all times, yet what you get of all these in this production at Warsaw’s Imka Theatre is just the first impression. The words and the characters remain the same, this version, created by Łukasz Kos, is likely unlike any Government Inspector you’ve seen on Polish stages. The cast are just six actors, including Krystyna Tkacz, Joanna Niemirska, Tomasz Karolak, and the director himself, yet the play brings over twenty characters to stage. The result? The actors switch between multiple male and female roles, transforming their stage personas in but seconds, before the very eyes of the audience. For instance, Tomasz Karolak chiefly plays the Mayor but also the Mayor’s wife and their maidservant. This opens room to a frenetic play with theatrical conventions, and the pace is challenging enough for the actors’ wigs to come and fly off and fake mustaches to come unstuck. Far from marring the impressions, it turns Imka’s production into a celebration of theatre in its purest form. It demonstrates how important and cathartic the element of unrestrained playfulness is for the audience. At a time when the rumblings of war reach us from just across our border and the familiar order of the world seems to be leaving its customary grooves before our eyes, we need escaping into laughter.

Moreover, Kos’s incredibly funny production delves deep into the arcane Russian soul, showing that centuries may pass and hardly anything has changed within it. His conclusions are terrifying. Russia of his Inspector is a country with no principles or morality. A fertile soil for all kinds of pathologies to take root easily.

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Photos: promotional materials of The Imka Theatre in Warsaw