Season 33 Play 5 – Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by
Cast
Louka – Marilyn Baines
Catherine – Sheila Bradley
Sergius – Mervyn Button
Bluntschli – George Pickles
Petkoff – Frank Breen
Nicola – Leigh Bowman
Russian Officer – Trevor Batty
Synopsis
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Directors Notes
Arms & the Man was first produced in April 1894; it ran for eleven weeks, and although William Archer said ‘it is as funny as “Charley’s Aunt’ the average takings were only £17 per night. The Prince of Wales (later Edward VIl) saw it, asked the author’s name and said
‘Of course, he’s mad.
It became the first of Shaw’s plays to be adapted for the musical stage and although GBS gave his permission for the adaptation, he insisted that the programme and bills of ‘The Chocolate Soldier’ bore the announcement. “with apologies to Mr. Bernard Shaw for the
unauthorised parody of one of his comedies’
Two world wars have completely cut away the premises on which Shaw erected his discussion of war, but William Archer’s view of the play is still valid: ‘I call it a farce because its primary purpose is to provoke laughter; as an extravaganza it is brilliant and delightful – as a realistic play, it is childish’
