Company Theatre presents

Romantic comedy 'Arms And The Man' by George Bernard Shaw will begin at The Rose Centre from November 16 to 30, with the cast complete in period costume from 1894. This play is the story of Raina Petkoff, a girl who wants more out of life. George Bernard Shaw also wrote Pygmalion that became the musical My Fair Lady.

When a charming soldier on the hop from the battlefield appears through Raina's bedroom window, what is she to do? Should she elope with this dashing mysterious stranger? Along with his comic genius, Shaw engages with major social ethics and a strong anti-war message.

An abridged review of an English performance from two years ago: Why would most producers rather cut their throats than put on a play by George Bernard Shaw? It is easy enough to see why this whimsically predictable 'anti-romantic comedy' from 1894 has fallen out of fashion, but it still contains teasing hints of mature Shaw (offering) a refreshing straightforwardness that avoids parodic knowingness…Bluntschli, a Swiss mercenary, hides in the bedroom of a Bulgarian heiress, Raina, during a war – an event that causes consternation when Sergius, her swaggering cavalry-officer fiance, finds out. As so often, Shaw’s trick is to invert stereotypes. As a practical soldier, Bluntschli finds chocolates more use than cartridges in the heat of battle and the heroic Sergius turns out to be a quixotic idiot…but the supposedly sexless Shaw lends the scenes between Raina and Bluntschli an erotic tension that prefigures Man and Superman. Raina’s maid Louka, who points out that service degrades the employer as much as the employed, is one of those fiercely independent spirits so beloved by Shaw. Even minor Shaw, which this is, is better than no Shaw at all.

When: November 16 to 30; Wednesday to Saturday from 8pm; Matinee on Sunday 17 November and Sunday 24 November from 2pm.  Book with ww.iticket.co.nz or phone 09 361 1000.  More information at www.companytheatre.co.nz

Filling Fast for 2020

Half the available dates for booking The Rose Centre in 2020 are gone already. If you have a performing art you would like to showcase in the coming year, now is the time to book. Ideal for theatre, dance, song and whatever you can do on a stage (consider the beautiful Luke Thornborough image from a film staged at The Rose Centre), our low-cost theatre is the place to be on the North Shore. We also offer what is arguably the North Shore’s and possibly Auckland’s most accessible venue.


Issue 104 November 2019