On 13th November the Theatre Goers group returned to the Theatre Royal in Winchester to see G.B. Shaw's Arms and the Man, a play which some of us vaguely remembered seeing decades ago. The basic premise of the plot is that Serbia and Bulgaria are at war and a Serbian officer enters the young heroine's bedroom while trying to escape. She is engaged to a Bulgarian officer but in the end switches to the Serbian - her "chocolate" soldier, while her fiancé declares his love for the maid, so everyone lives happily ever after. 

The first act was a little slow, with more exposition than a modern audience appreciates, but once the Bulgarian officer arrived we were treated to a hilarious caricature: every time he moved or spoke he made us laugh. The second act was very entertaining and at the end we all agreed the play had been well worth seeing.

Sheila Charisse