A talented cast, a very funny play by a young and ebullient George Bernard Shaw and swift direction by Lauren Taylor all add up to make a delightful close to United Players' current season. But Shaw's laughter-inducing mix of wit and farce is mere sugar-coating for his more serious purpose, an examination of romanticism, idealism and pragmatism in love and war.

The play is set in a semi-fictitious Bulgaria during the Balkan wars. Raina (Hannah Everett) is engaged to her hero, the dashing Major Sergius Saranoff (Brandon James Gilbert), currently away at the war with her father, Major Petkoff (Raphael Kepinski). Raina and her mother, Catherine (Lauren Kirsten Robek), are both thrilled when news comes that the Bulgarians have won a great Battle with a charge led by Sergius. That evening, as the streets are filled with fleeing Serbian squaddies, a soldier climbs into Raina's bedroom. After some skirmishing between them, Raina invokes the notion of Bulgarian hospitality due to a guest and hides the man from a search party. Raina and Catherine manage to smuggle him out of the house in disguise.

When the gallant heroes return from the war, all seems well, though Raina begins to find Sergius rather boring and full of himself. The soldier had told her that Sergius’s gallant action leading the battle charge was nothing more than a fool-hardy accident born out of ignorance. He himself, as a practical Swiss mercenary, would rather carry sustenance than cartridges in his pockets, chocolate creams for preference. Sergius is not above flirting with Raina’s maid Louka. Louka is engaged to Nicola but dissatisfied with both him and with her life as a servant. Nicola considers himself practical, not servile. They both know the secrets of the house. Everyone pretends to carry on as usual until the Swiss mercenary, known to Petkoff and Sergei as Captain Bluntschli, arrives and all unravels.

Hannah Everett and Lauren Kirsten Robek are both delightfully contemporary as mother and daughter and in their relationships with their men. Raphael Kepinski (Paul Petkoff) and Brandon James Gilbert (Sergius) bluster and swagger to the hilt – rather too noisily on opening night. Kiyomi Hoover (Louka) has a nice line as a young person with attitude and Victor Vasuta (Nicola) keeps a lot under his hat as the professional servant. Jay Clift (Bluntschli), calm and rational, provides a solid centre to for the flowing emotions..

Alison Green’s set is gracefully Eastern European with minaret and domes. Brodie Davison’s costumes reflect the historical Russian presence, much mentioned in the text, and the Ottoman influence on Bulgaria.

This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking production and great fun into the bargain.

©2026 Elizabeth Paterson