The Inspector General: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Nikolai Gogol, translated by Thomas Seltzer. 37 speaking roles, 22,785 words, about 163 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Governor has the most to say in The Inspector General: about 734 lines and 6,532 words, 28.7% of the play. Gogol’s satire follows the officials of a provincial town who mistake a penniless young traveler for a government inspector. The Governor is the largest part, with nearly 29% of the words, and Khlestakov follows at about 23%. Khlestakov does not speak until Act 2 and is absent from Act 5, which belongs to the Governor and the town.

Speaking roles: 37
Scenes: 52
Words: 22,785
Speech time: 163 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Governor	734	6,532	28.7%	46.7	21
Khlestakov	637	5,218	22.9%	37.3	26
Anna	253	2,120	9.3%	15.1	15
Osip	175	1,528	6.7%	10.9	11
Bobchinsky	128	1,104	4.8%	7.9	9
Artemy	128	1,031	4.5%	7.4	10
Postmaster	112	875	3.8%	6.3	4
Ammos	105	839	3.7%	6.0	8
Dobchinsky	85	685	3%	4.9	8
Marya	59	427	1.9%	3.1	11
Luka	49	349	1.5%	2.5	6
Merchants	37	324	1.4%	2.3	2
Locksmith’s Wife	31	289	1.3%	2.1	1
Servant	33	210	0.9%	1.5	3
Korobkin	25	198	0.9%	1.4	3
A Merchant	19	186	0.8%	1.3	2
Luka’s Wife	17	163	0.7%	1.2	1
Judge	13	107	0.5%	0.8	1
Widow	12	94	0.4%	0.7	1
Captain	11	82	0.4%	0.6	2
Mishka	12	78	0.3%	0.6	1
Korobkin’s Wife	7	53	0.2%	0.4	3
Rastakovsky	5	40	0.2%	0.3	2
Svistunov	7	38	0.2%	0.3	2
Merchant’s Voice	4	31	0.1%	0.2	1
Gendarme	3	25	0.1%	0.2	1
Luka Lukich	4	21	0.1%	0.2	3
Guest	2	19	0.1%	0.1	1
Liuliukov	2	18	0.1%	0.1	1
Derzhimorda’s Voice	2	14	0.1%	0.1	1
Bobchinsky’s Voice	1	8	0%	0.1	1
Postilion	4	7	0%	0.1	1
Many Guests	1	5	0%	0.0	1
A Lady	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Ammos Fiodorovich	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Artemy Filippovich	1	4	0%	0.0	1
Derzhimorda	1	4	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	1.1	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.6	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.6	2.7	2.8	2.9	2.10	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.8	3.9	3.10	3.11	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.8	4.9	4.10	4.11	4.12	4.13	4.14	4.15	4.16	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.8	5.L
Governor
Khlestakov
Anna
Osip
Bobchinsky
Artemy
Postmaster
Ammos
Dobchinsky

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Osip: “The devil take it! I’m so hungry. There’s a ra…”	Act 2, Scene 1	671	68
Khlestakov: “Immense! For instance, watermelon will be serv…”	Act 3, Scene 6	449	45
Bobchinsky: “Yes, of rather good appearance and dressed in …”	Act 1, Scene 3	239	24
Governor: “I’m a decent person myself, mother. But, reall…”	Act 5, Scene 1	231	24
Governor: “Engaged! Rats! Fiddlesticks! So much for your …”	Act 5, Scene 8	226	23
Governor: “Oh, it isn’t a matter of words now. Do you kno…”	Act 5, Scene 2	221	23
Governor: “I had a sort of presentiment of it. Last night…”	Act 1, Scene 1	218	22
Governor: “Well, then, this is what you are to do.—Sergea…”	Act 1, Scene 5	213	22
Postmaster: ““I hasten to inform you, my dear friend, what …”	Act 5, Scene 8	197	20
Locksmith’s Wife: “He did it, he did it, the blackguard! May God …”	Act 4, Scene 11	195	20

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Bobchinsky and Merchants
Bobchinsky and Locksmith’s Wife
Bobchinsky and Servant
Bobchinsky and A Merchant
Bobchinsky and Luka’s Wife
Bobchinsky and Judge
Bobchinsky and Widow
Bobchinsky and Mishka
Bobchinsky and Merchant’s Voice
Bobchinsky and Gendarme
Bobchinsky and Liuliukov
Bobchinsky and Derzhimorda’s Voice

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Inspector General?

Governor, with about 734 lines and 6,532 words, 28.7% of everything spoken in the play. Khlestakov is next, with about 637 lines (22.9%).

How long is The Inspector General?

The full text has 22,785 spoken words, about 163 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in The Inspector General?

37 named roles speak in this edition, across 52 scenes. 28 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.