Play on Words

full length · satire

The Inspector-General

by Nikolai Gogol

21 roles (17M / 4F) · approx 146–201 minutes · 5 acts

Royalty-free Public domain — free to read, perform, and adapt. No licence needed.

Characters

Khlestakov lead 234 speeches
Governor lead 171 speeches
Anna supporting 87 speeches
Artemy supporting 48 speeches
Osip supporting 46 speeches
Ammos minor 43 speeches
Marya minor 43 speeches
Postmaster minor 40 speeches
Dobchinsky minor 38 speeches
Bobchinsky minor 37 speeches
Servant minor 25 speeches
Luka minor 21 speeches
Merchants minor 12 speeches
Korobkin minor 11 speeches
Mishka minor 9 speeches
Captain minor 7 speeches
Widow minor 6 speeches
All minor 5 speeches
Judge minor 5 speeches
Svistunov minor 4 speeches
Postilion minor 4 speeches
Korobkin'S Wife minor 4 speeches
Luka Lukich minor 3 speeches

Read the play

More Guests enter and kiss the ladies' hands, among them Luka Lukich and his wife.

Luka Lukich. I have the honor.

LUKA'S WIFE [running ahead]. Congratulate you, Anna Andreyevna. [They kiss.] Really, I was so glad to hear of it. They tell me, "Anna Andreyevna has betrothed her daughter." "Oh, my God," I think to myself. It made me so glad that I said to my husband, "Listen, Lukanchik, that's a great piece of fortune for Anna Andreyevna." "Well," think I to myself, "thank God!" And I say to him, "I'm so delighted that I'm consumed with impatience to tell it to Anna Andreyevna herself." "Oh, my God," think I to myself, "it's just as Anna Andreyevna expected. She always did expect a good match for her daughter. And now what luck! It happened just exactly as she wanted it to happen." Really, it made me so glad that I couldn't say a word. I cried and cried. I simply screamed, so that Luka Lukich said to me, "What are you crying so for, Nastenka?" "Lukanchik," I said, "I don't know myself. The tears just keep flowing like a stream."

Governor. Please sit down, ladies and gentlemen. Ho, Mishka, bring some more chairs in.

The Guests seat themselves.

Monologues from this play