Theatre review: The Government Inspector, Clubhouse Theatre, Townsville

Queensland is just about to have its local government election, and what could be more topical than to present an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 1836 play The Government Inspector? With 14 film versions – most memorably the 1949 musical comedy The Inspector General starring Danny Kaye – and innumerable stage productions, there is no doubting the lasting thematic value of this play. And this version, which was written and directed by TheatreiNQ’s artistic director Terri Brabon OAM, could not be more definitively Australian. 

Like the best Shakespearean tradition, it is a comedy of errors and mistaken identity, mixed up with greed, idiotic stupidity and political corruption. Sound familiar? With its distinct lack of romantic interest and sympathetic characters, it’s still rated as one of the best plays ever written and really begs us to ask whether much – if anything – has changed in 2024.

Like all good satires, serious questions are posed once the audience has been pulled in and captivated by the guise of unbridled hilarity. One of the most telling lines in the second act of Brabon’s version is: ‘Corruption is like COVID. Nobody wants it. We all know it’s bad but we’ve learned to live with it.’

Or even this: ‘And one day some wimpy, woke do-gooder is going to a write a stage play about this and it won’t be a stirring drama, chaps, or even an inspiring political satire, but a f***ing farce’!

Long before anyone analysed the secrets to good farce-playing, it was clear that Gogol got it right. The plot should always be around mistaken identity, it should mock social codes and it should be delivered with wit and manners, while at the same time played with speed and timing. And Brabon has been true to every aspect of these codes in this production.

Over the years I have seen and reviewed a number of works she has adapted and directed, and this must surely stand out as one of the best. While observant of the original text (shown most tellingly in the affectionate use of Tchaikovsky melodies as the production’s soundtrack), she has vigorously shaken the text, adapted the plot, changed the locale, updated the language and included (in the best tradition of pantomime) numerous local references, while also reinventing a cast of recognisable grotesques to ultimately produce a consummately Aussie version.

The result can only be described in one word – riotous.

We are now in a Queensland town where the protagonist is a local property developer who controls everyone and everything through having his fingers in every dirty pie. He also has the dirt on his corrupt gang of Mayor and councillors. They get wind of the news that a government inspector is to arrive incognito from the capital to inspect them and their activities. Indiscriminate panic sets in and in their desperation they mistake a stranger in the town for the inspector. The stranger hooks on to what is happening and greedily takes advantage of the situation as the gang bribes him.

Dominating the plot in more ways than one is the erstwhile local property developer, Barry Barrymore (aka “The Gov”), played by Brendan O’Connor. The set is adorned with photos of him with “famous folk” such as Bob Katter, Barnaby Joyce and Scott Morrison. O’Connor brings his considerable acting skill to bear in this role with an almost manic energy and sense of fun, while (like his fellow cast members) attempting to avoid the numerous temptations to completely lose it.

His wife is the nouveau rich provincial matron, Anna (pronounced Ah-Nah) in honour of her Russia heritage – as certified by Ancestry.com. Also played with great energy and a lascivious twinkle by Brabon, Anna has a voracious sexual appetite as she competes with her daughter Marya (Paris Walsh) for every eligible male.

The Gov’s cohort of larger than life sycophants is led by Amos the local Mayor, played with a certain delicious inner terror by Michael Sams. Lucinda Binder is the multi-titled local councillor (with the arts portfolio tacked on the end as an afterthought) with a dubious sexual history. Emma Lamberton enjoys every minute of this role. 

Resembling a young Graham Norton, Michael Doris is delightful as the gay Irish councillor who specialises in puppy-farming, and Michael Gleeson is suitably suave as the moustachioed gambler who is mistaken for the inspector, while Keely Pronk is funny as the buxom small-town escort.  

Two performance gems come from the gaudily clad couple – the Dobbses! John Goodson as Warren Dobbs is hysterical as the finance man with the speech impediment and Sally McCutcheon is gloriously curmudgeonly in a scene-stealing performance as his dominating wife, Lauren.

O’Connor’s highly flexible and serviceable set is totally apt in shades of pink, orange, green and turquoise green, matched with an equally effective outrageous costume design by Kathy Brabon. 

Read: Theatre review: Yentl, Malthouse Theatre

Beneath all this wit and mayhem lie some pretty serious messages. There are all sorts of pointed references to government corruption, such as the millions of dollars squandered on consultancies for repetitive (many of them the same) projects, so that no money is left for the actual project itself. Of course, the usual disclaimer about “all persons living or dead” applies!

In summary – a classic text, wonderfully reinvented and expertly delivered. 

The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol 
Adapted and directed by Terri Brabon
A TheatreiNQ Production, Clubhouse Theatre
Director: Terri Brabon
Stage Manager: Fionn Baker-Goodson
Crew: Sasha Lea-Rowell
Set Design: Brendan O’Connor
Set Construction: Brendan O’Connor, Lily Bartlett, Michael Gleeson, Fionn Baker-Gleeson
Sound Design: Terri Brabon
Lighting Design: Daniel Lobley
Technical Operator: Daniel Lobley
Followspot operator: Ava Saldana Lopez
Costumes: Kathy Brabon
Production Assistants: The Bridge Project
Event Manager: Anne-Marie Smith
Photography: Chrissy Maguire 
Cast: Michael Gleeson, Keely Pronk, Brendan O’Connor, Terri Brabon, Paris Walsh, Michael Sams, Emma Lamberton, Michael Doris, John Goodson, Sally McCutcheon, Ally Armitage-Cosgrove, Emma Smith, Lily Bartlett, Kaden Ramm, George Abednego, Alyssandra Higgins and Hunter Sams.

Tickets: $32-$40

The Government Inspector will be performed until 17 March.