Revizor is the great comic masterpiece of nineteenth- century Russian theatre. Its central role, that of Khlestakov - the opportunistic yarn-spinner who is mistaken by provincial officials for a government inspector from St. Petersburg - has attracted performances from such western comic actors as Danny Kaye, Tony Hancock and Rick Mayall, as well as mainstays of the Russian theatre. This sweeping satire of Russian bureaucratic life directs its message, conveyed in apocalyptic undertones, at audiences from all backgrounds.