Beautiful young Bulgarian Raina has heroic ideals, betrothed as she is to Major Sergius Saranoff. Her fiancé
is away, fighting alongside her father, Major Petkoff, in the war against Serbia … but when escaping Serbian
Captain Bluntschli climbs into her bedroom through the balcony window, she finds herself hiding him behind
the curtains in spite of herself.
Does he have ammunition in his pockets? No … he has chocolate creams, like any other jobbing soldier.
And when she catches Sergius flirting with her maid Louka, Raina finds her grand notions of love and war
slipping away from her, as true love and honesty take their place.
To celebrate 100 years since George Bernard Shaw won The Nobel Prize for Literature and following a
critically acclaimed UK Tour, The Shaw Society is proud to sponsor Rumpus Theatre Company’s production
of Shaw’s biting satire on the caprices of love, the realities of war and…chocolate.
It is over 130 years since Arms And The Man was first performed in London in 1894, and yet the play’s
themes still have as many universal parallels in today’s world: a world that even now remains at the mercies
of a few men’s desire for ever greater power and wealth. Proving that Shaw’s work is as relevant now as it
has always been.
I caught up with John Goodrum, who alongside playing Captain Bluntschli and directing the play, is also the Founder of the Rumpus Theatre Company. I wondered how he cam to choose “Arms & The Man” – “When I was invited by the Sarah Thorne Theatre in Broadstairs to present a play in memory of Michael Friend … that great Bernard Shaw enthusiast, director and producer, who himself presented many fine Shaw productions at Shaw’s Corner and on tour … ARMS AND THE MAN was an obvious choice for me:“
“Shaw writing at his lightest, comedic best and yet with a passionate heart that has more than a little to say about the state of the world today, with war ever-present, particularly in Eastern Europe. And it’s been a favourite play of mine ever since I saw a fabulous production of it in the 1970’s with Richard Briars, Peter Egan and Pat Heywood, amongst others.” Perhaps it being a favourite is also the reason he chose to act & direct, but does this throw up any issues I wondered?
“It’s a process that has a fine tradition … John Gielgud, Noel Coward, Laurence Oliver … Ray Cooney! Not that I compare myself to any of them! It’s an enjoyable process, and not too hard for me with ARMS AND THE MAN as Bluntschli is only in the first and third acts … and indeed has quite a lot of time off in the third act … but it’s always helpful to have an outside eye for the scenes one’s in oneself … in my case, my wife Karen Henson … also a director / actor / producer, who is playing Catherine in the production.”
If you should come, and I do hope you do – (though you will have to provide your own chocolate creams), what can you look forward to? “A very special evening in a very special location … Shaw’s Corner. What a setting! With all its history, and the warmth and passion of the audiences who come to see the productions, it’s a joy to perform there. All the pleasures and perils of open air theatre … the possibility that the weather might not be entirely sunny, but the special moment when, almost imperceptibly, the artificial lights seem to have partly taken over from the daylight, and it’s twilight!“
“Shaw’s Corner, with all its associations with the great man himself, is the perfect setting for open air productions of his plays … and ARMS AND THE MAN is one of his most scintillating, funny and entertaining plays … with a really serious heart for those who want to find it! What better way to celebrate George Bernard Shaw’s birthday!” Rumpus Theatre Company’s “Arms & The Man” runs on Friday 25 th & Saturday 26 th July for tickets and further information please check out the Shaw’s Corner website.
