The Government Inspector Sheffield Crucible until Saturday

Director Roxana Silbert’s take on a play written by Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol in 1836, which has been brilliantly adapted by David Harrower, is theatre at its best in a joint project between Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Ramps on the Moon.

A superb cast of mainly disabled actors use a mixture of sign language, audio descriptions and captions on stage as an integral part of the play to bring to life a tale in which The Thick Of It’s Malcolm Tucker would be entirely at home.

It’s best to keep your eyes on the action on stage not the subtitles above to avoid missing every inflection from such a wonderful group of actors.

David Carlyle, as the conniving but stupid mayor of the town, is extraordinarily compelling — a cross between Leonard Rossiter and John Cleese as Basil Fawlty.

The mayor— who is so rotten to the core he’s already publicly flogged a penniless widow — and his hangers-on go berserk when the town learns that an undercover government inspector is coming from the capital St Petersburg.

Carlyle frantically runs around the stage, hilariously spitting out accusations at the town’s shopkeepers who he blames for the inspection, while also exchanging barbed comments with the local police, the postmaster, the heads of the school and hospital, the local judge and a pair of craven landowners.

They work themselves up into such a frenzy they trick themselves into a delightfully-executed piece of mistaken identity as they search for the supposedly incognito inspector.

At the inn they find the man who they believe is the inspector.

But in reality, it’s Khlestakov (Robin Morrissey), a low-grade civil servant, gambler and conman who can’t believe his luck.

And neither gan his long-suffering servant Osip (wonderfully played by Michael Keane), who milks the mix-up for all it’s worth.

Khlestakov is so absorbed in his own life he deludes himself and at first doesn’t realise he's been mistaken for the inspector.

But he soon proceeds to take bribes from the only-too-willing officials one by one.

The pace never lets up as all the relationships are revealed as being based purely on corruption, with everyone out to cheat everyone else.

Gogol created no redeeming qualities or sympathetic characters.

There are lots of clever asides to the audience and the mayor has occasional moments of self doubt.

“I am a sinner,” he says as a lone spotlight shines down on to him.

Gloriously silly and surreal, The Government Inspector offers a refreshing look at disability and the arts.