‘I do accept the occasional bribe,” the local judge admits casually, “Just small gifts — a fur coat for my wife for instance.” Meanwhile, a warning that an inspector is coming throws the mayor into a right tizz, and he rushes around trying to get the town’s affairs in order: “Get the hospital straight!” he cries in panic-stricken tones. “Get rid of half the patients.”

The lines above are taken from a very lively new adaptation of Gogol’s satirical Russian comedy The Government Inspector, which was first staged at the Jericho Tavern by new local professional company Flintlock Theatre. Flintlock was founded by married couple Robin Colyer and Anna Glynn, and we meet up as they prepare to take The Government Inspector on an Oxfordshire tour.

“Anna and I first met at drama school, but we did different projects,” Robin explains. “Our paths crossed again a few years later, when we were both with touring companies. I was touring with the Watermill theatre company from Newbury, and Anna was with the Birmingham Stage Company. Our tours coincided at the Lowry in Salford, where there are two theatres in the same complex, and we started talking about ideas. A couple of years later, Flintlock was born — and so was our romance!”

“There comes a point for a lot of actors when you think: ‘I want to create my own work’”, Anna adds. “So we got some actors together who we’d really enjoyed working with in the past, and had a very small research and development weekend in Summertown. Everyone lent their time free, and we paid them with tea and sandwiches. “We started with The Government Inspector, and put on some Klezmer music to have a play around, and somehow it took up the whole weekend. Right at the end Robin said: ‘Hang on, we forgot the Shakespeare we were also going to try out!’”

All of which led to Flintlock staging The Government Inspector at the Jericho Tavern last year.

“That was an absolute punt, but we thought we’d give it a go and see how we got on,” Anna says. “We were inspired by Giffords Circus, and tried to create an atmosphere as well as the show itself. It all went very well, and we sold out. It seemed we’d tapped a vein. We were then taken on as artists in residence at the Oxford Playhouse, and it’s taken off from there.”

The production has colourful atmosphere aplenty — and audience participation too.

You may be swept into the Klezmer dancing that’s placed between each scene, or you could find yourself pressed into service as the mayor’s attractive daughter — you’re a middle-aged man, so that won’t happen to you? Don’t you believe it.

“I think we cottoned on to the fact quite quickly that if we wanted to transform am audience member into this young, beautiful female character, it was best to see if you could find a man with a beard,” Robin laughs. “That complete opposite to reality sets it up really well. “There was one occasion when we got someone to play a character in a scene, and he quite got into the idea. He started chipping in lines of his own, ad-libbing his way through. His wife lent over to him and said: ‘Be quiet’. He replied, loudly: ‘YOU be quiet, I’M in the play!’ Thus the audience gets the delight of seeing all the actors in trouble, and watching them solve the problem!”

 

The Government Inspector
Great Milton (October 4), Cassington (October 5), Arts at The Old Fire Station, Oxford (Oct 18-19)
Visit flintlocktheatre.com