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GEORGY TOVSTONOGOV: THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, 1973
world — influenced subsequent mises-en-scéne to such an extent that some
of its ideas could be uncovered in even Läszlö Bagossy’s and Viktor Bodö’s
memorable scenic versions of the play (at the National Theatre of Pécs in
2002, and at the Vig Theatre in Budapest in 2014).°® They all recalled the
1973 The Government Inspector of the National Theatre, which incorporated
contemporary overtones inadvertently and became the allegory of the Kadar
regime, which was full of fear and trembling, capital crimes and petty villainy
as well.
738 According to Gabor Máté, "anyone who examines The Government Inspector thoroughly and
tries to confront it with his/her own age, will not be able to get free from Gabor Zsdmbéki’s
mise-en-scéne [...] in the next ten to fifteen years. It was such an accurate analysis of the
play and such an accurate application to that era [i.e. to the 1980s], that it made the ideas
and solutions it raised unsurpassed in a sense. If someone wants to stage The Government
Inspector without thinking about all these things, he/she either does not understand the
play, or does not know the social environment in which he/she lives.” Sandor L.: A legenda
átörökítői, 28.
+ 149 +