Description

The gallantry of love and war is rendered comedic in Arms and the Man, a lighthearted and endearing play. Set against the backdrop of the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian war, the play focuses on the heroine Raina, who is engaged to Sergius, a war hero who is away fighting. Raina’s world is turned upside down one night when a man bursts into her house in terror and begs her to hide him so he will not be killed. Raina complies, later learning that his name is Bluntschli and that he is a Swiss soldier volunteering in the Serbian army. Although she helps sneak Bluntschli out of the house disguised in a coat, Raina believes the man to be a coward, a far cry from her heroic man Sergius. But when the war ends and Sergius returns to her, he flirts openly with her servant Louka, acting less than honorably. Slowly, Raina’s romantic ideals begin to wear thin and she comes to think of her fiancée as disagreeable and irritating. Her opinion changes even more dramatically when Bluntschli appears again, claiming that he wants to return the coat—but in reality it is to see Raina again. When Sergius finds out the truth about Bluntschli, the comedy threatens to turn into tragedy, and the drama builds as we wonder how this love triangle will unravel.

About the Author

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was born into a modest Dublin family. As a child, Shaw struggled throughout his schooling, resisting the rigid structure and rules that he felt were unnecessarily imposed by strict educational institutions. After leaving school in his teenage years, Shaw worked as a clerk, not sure of the direction his life would take. His parents, however, separated around this time and Shaw left his father’s home in Dublin in order to join his mother and sisters in London and try his hand at writing. London offered Shaw the kind of freedom and opportunities that he needed in order to develop. He was able to spend time reading and perfecting his literary craft in libraries around the city. He joined like-minded peers in the Fabian Society, a well-known London group of progressive political thinkers. In the 1890s, Shaw saw his first successes on the London stage, and went on to produce dozens of plays, novels, and works in prose, including Pygmalion, St. Joan, and Cashel Byron’s Profession. Shaw is perhaps best known for his play Pygmalion, which was adapted into the musical “My Fair Lady,” enjoying long-lived success on the stage and screen.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

chest of drawers between the door and the bed.
dressing table, with a box of matches beside it.
the furniture of her room.
tea gown on all occasions.
CATHERINE (entering hastily, full of good news). Raina--(she pronounces it Rah-eena, with the stress on the ee) Raina--(she goes to ...