Written by Irish Playwright in 1894, George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man is currently running at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. It runs from 24 Nov 2022 to 6 Dec 2022.
Director Paul Miller’s revival of Arms and the Man is a thrilling and hilarious two hour production. This is a timely piece to show when we think of what is happening between Russia and Ukraine in this day.
Set during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Shaw’s play takes a critical look at the romanticizing of love and war. It is a comedy that shows the futility of war along with the hypocrisies of human nature.
The play which takes place over three acts and two intervals, begins in the bedroom of a naive young Bulgarian Raina (Rebecca Collingwood) as she sits at her dressing table admiring the picture of her fiancé Sergius Saranoff (played by Alex Bhat) who is away at war.
It’s in the first act that she will have her first encounter Bluntschli (played by Alex Waldmann), a bloodied Swiss mercenary soldier for the Serbs. He points a gun at her after climbing up to her balcony to escape his enemies. This does not faze her. Noticing she is dressed in a nightgown after she appeals to him to let her dress. He grabs her fur shawl and drops the gun and threatens her morality instead. Very soon he is appealing to her humanity to allow him to shelter in her room. On both sides it is clear there is an attraction between the two that breaks down the boundary this “war” has created.
The rest of the play builds on this with fantastic performances by all the actors. The interactions between servant Louka (played by Kemi Awoderu) and Sergius (played by Alex Bhat) breaks down the barriers of the class system.
The staging, props and lighting are used impeccably for this small theatre.
Arms and the Man is currently running at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. It runs from 24 Nov 2022 to 6 Dec 2022. To book tickets visit Orange Tree Theatre.
