The Government Inspector

My dear Trjapićkin

I am unusually delighted to tell you that the premiere of The Government Inspector is about to take place before the Novi Sad audience — the most-watched play in the Balkans and beyond. Everyone knows it as the product of a historic collaboration between two theatres, which is unusual in today’s times.

Over the last ten years this play has been performed on the stages of all national theatres and I attended every performance. It has been crowned with numerous awards (most of them mine). Once, after a colleague’s role in the hit of the same name, the queen personally bestowed upon him the title of “sir.” In his acceptance speech he gave special thanks to Gogol and his inspiring life: It is important to know that Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, in addition to writing, was also involved in humanitarian work. In researching the role I followed in the footsteps of the great writer and philanthropist. On that pilgrimage I spent seven years and because of it I missed the birth of my sixth child, whom everyone says is the spitting image of me even though she is a girl.

Many do not know that Gogol bequeathed this work to the Serbian people because of his boundless understanding of the play’s content and his identification with it. The Government Inspector is a Serbian child.

Petar Jovanović gave up a career as a long‑voyage ship captain for this reason and made his final debut with this production, to which he devoted nine months of his life and successfully delivered. After that he retired to Hollywood where he now successfully services air conditioners.

I hope you enjoy it and let me know your impressions.

Sincerely, yours, H