Published on: 2026-09-03
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The State Academic Mossovet Theatre presented the premiere — “Revizor” based on the eponymous play by Nikolai Gogol, directed by artistic director Evgeny Marchelli. The director defined the genre of the performance as an irrational comedy.
Dignity as the main victim: what is the true drama of the residents of city N
Evgeny Marchelli’s productions are distinguished by a special, keen attention to human weaknesses. Even a comedic story can turn into a chilling drama when human vices come to the forefront.
“When I tried to touch on Gogol’s dramaturgy in ‘Marriage,’ it turned out to be very interesting,” the director says. “And if you change the angle and use an unusual approach, you get not a caricatured and satirical story, but a psychological one. It has little buffoonery and a lot of inner substance. I understand it as psychological theater with elements of comedy, farce, and even tragedy.”
City N is unremarkable, quiet, and calm. The action begins with officials leisurely dining at a table full of various treats. Before the audience are the most ordinary people, devoid of malice or deceit. But what if the main problem of City N is not corruption and abuse of power at all? What if the cause of the residents’ downfall runs much deeper — in their readiness to give up their own dignity for the illusion of security?
“This is a story not about officials, not about the norms of the 19th century, not about bribe-takers and bureaucrats, but a very simple human story. Here we explore the simplest yet always relevant theme: how much has a person changed since the dawn of humanity, how much has the sense of self-worth been preserved. How much freer is a person today than yesterday, the day before, and throughout life? And, it seems to me, in this sense a person has not changed at all — even with all the progress towards a common ideal today — a person still remains a person,” reflects Evgeny Marchelli.
The action unfolds against the backdrop of a construction site. Temporary fences, warning signs, helmets… It seems that something is being created, developing, moving forward, but there is no result yet. This is also how the residents of city N are: outwardly they hold their positions, maintain order, live by the rules, but inside their world is empty and imperfect. It is as if they are constantly building a system that ultimately works against them.
Soul check
The external calm is disrupted by the sudden news of the arrival of an inspector — an important official from Petersburg. The townspeople immediately perceive this as the end of their peaceful life.
Khlestakov (Dmitry Podadaev) and Osip (Alexander Popelo) appear as if from the underworld — ominous, like inevitable retribution for what has been done. And immediately Khlestakov begins walking around the hall, asking the audience to lend money, to provide the code from the government services portal, and three digits on the back of their card. And the hall laughs, but hands over bills… At that moment, it seems that Khlestakov is testing not only the officials of city N, but also the spectators: how easily a person is willing to give control over themselves to someone who seems stronger?
“Khlestakov Ivan Alexandrovich is not the Khlestakov we are used to from the school curriculum,” Dmitry Podadaev tells about his character. “He has always seemed to us lighthearted, somewhat even a fool who accidentally deceives all the officials. My Khlestakov is different. Here he is sometimes Mephistopheles, sometimes a devil, even the devil himself, who not only extorts money but tests people’s souls. Everyone perfectly understands that he is lying, but no one can stop him.”
It is this paradox that runs as a bright thread throughout the entire play. The officials are not afraid of the inspector himself, but of their own perception of him. They themselves endow Khlestakov with enormous power, turning a random person into a figure capable of deciding their fates.
The director explores the moment when the internal feeling of unfreedom is stronger than any external circumstances. The characters could have stopped, thought, seen the obvious, but the fear of imaginary power proves stronger than common sense.
“This psychology resonates deeply with me, because I am the same,” admits Evgeny Marchelli. “When I enter the boss’s office, for some reason my knees always go a little weak. Or why, when a higher-ranking boss of any level tells a joke, I start laughing even though I don’t find it funny? And when I see myself in this role, I ask myself the same question about this strange phenomenon: where does this slavish attitude toward superiors live inside me?”
Khlestakov-Woland
Epochs change, forms of power and social decorations change, but the mechanism of human behavior remains the same: people are still capable of bowing down to those they themselves have placed above them.
“In my opinion, this work is exactly suitable for such an experiment because the situation that arose there is timeless,” says People’s Artist of Russia Andrey Mezghulis, who plays the role of the mayor. “That’s why it’s so interesting to observe officials from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries who find themselves in these satirical situations. The very appearance of Khlestakov — not as a passing boy, but as Woland in Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel ‘The Master and Margarita,’ who is sent to Earth to see how much people have changed and how capable they are of yielding and humiliating themselves before an unknown but fearsome being. And this fits perfectly, and from this all the metamorphoses follow, over which people laugh and reflect.”
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