Plays Pleasant

One of Bernard Shaw`s most glittering comedies, Arms and the Man is also a burlesque of Victorian attitudes to heroism, war and empire. In contrast between Bluntschli, the mercenary soldier, and t ...

One of Bernard Shaw`s most glittering comedies, Arms and the Man is also a burlesque of Victorian attitudes to heroism, war and empire. In contrast between Bluntschli, the mercenary soldier, and the brave leader, Sergius, the true nature of valour is revealed. Bernard Shaw mocks self-deluding idealism in Candida when the foolish young poet Marchbanks becomes infatuated with the wife of a socialist preacher. The Man of Destiny is a witty war of words between Napoleon and a `strange lady`, and You Never Can Tell is an exuberant farce, which turns on the chance reunion of a divided family.