The Shaw Festival began its 2006 season in style with a rousing production of G.B. Shaw's "anti" romantic comedy, Arms And The Man.
Directed By Jackie Maxwell
**** (out of five)
There are numerous "timeless" comedies in the theatre canon. Arms and the Man, written by Shaw, has received numerous revivals at Ontario' Shaw Festival over the years, and there is good reason.
Shaw has written a piece that takes place in Bulgaria around the turn of the 20th century, at the tail end of a war with rival Serbia. During a fight between the two nations, an enemy soldier, Bluntschli, ends up hiding in the room of a Major of the Bulgarian army to escape his enemy forces. She is instantly taken with him and his charm.
The war ends, and the Major returns home with his daughter's fiancé, who was also a soldier in the war. When Bluntschli returns, though, Raina is left with a difficult decision - to choose between the two soldiers.
Jackie Maxwell, Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival, does a wonderful job at moving the actors around the stage with ease, and ensures that the play moves along with the pacing it needs. Sue LePage has created three beautiful, unique and lavish sets that fill the large Festival stage, and William Schmuck's costumes are lovely to see and wonderfully appropriate for the time period and setting.
This show is highlighted by glowing performances by each of the cast members. Diana Donnelly gives a subtle and touching portrayal of Raina, the young lady caught in the middle of the two soldiers. Nora McLennan and Peter Hutt are hilarious as her parents, and Patrick Galligan is charming as Bluntschli. The show is stolen though by the performance of Mike Shara as Sergius, the fiancé of Raina. He is deliciously subtle and hilarious, and there isn't a moment when he is on stage where you will not be laughing. The cast work as one, using everyones energy to play off one another. This is truly one of the strongest comedic ensemble casts assembled at the Shaw in a long, long time.
This production is the way that Shaw intended it to be - funny, poignant, timeless, and a light piece of theatre that will make the audience laugh out loud, and allow them to simply sit back and enjoy an evening of entertainment.
