surprise, the impact is still very strong. The seventy years since the play was Shaw's first commercial success as a playwright have been so filled with uniforms that it is no longer astonishing to find that soldiers are made out of chocolate cream. Heroes and heroines have changed too, and this is the age of the anti-hero. However, it is still amusing to see a hero so unheroic and with such good humour, and a heroine so obviously finding it rather a bore to maintain her romantic image. This production hit the satirical targets brilliantly. Outstanding was Mr. Brian Bryce as Captain Bluntschli, the chocolate soldier. His part was crucial to the success of the play and Ms excellent sense of timing and great acting ability well deserved the applause he received on his final exit. He was the anti-hero in every way from the moment that he entered Raina's bedroom in full flight, concerned only for his own safety and defending himself with an empty pistol, through to the last scene where he appeared as the sharp-witted, military wide boy, concerned less with his father's death than with how much cutlery he had been left, and in organising his wedding with the same efficiency he displays in settling troop movements. Andrew Wyman was in excellent contrast as the supercilious Major Saranoff who is as foolish as a soldier as he is in his romances. He owes his life and heroic reputation to the enemy having the wrong ammunition for their machine guns. He is handsome while Captain Bluntschli can at best be described as rugged, he is haughty where his rival is down to earth, and he is foolish where his rival is wily. Wyman looked the part in his dashing uniform, addressing all his remarks to the ceiling as though he had a bad smell under his nose, and he was also able to suggest the more human aspects of Sergius' character when he is brought to earth by Louka the maid. Miss Aileen Bryce as Louka shows a most promising talent. She was able to get under the skin of the flighty, down-to-earth maid and her performance was all the more remarkable because she had taken over the part only a few days before the production. Miss Teresa Lilley had the beauty and elegance required for Raina. This is a difficult part requiring dramatic changes of mood, as she is at one moment the romantic heroine shocked at the attitudes of the chocolate cream soldier and worshipping her romantic hero, Saranoff, and the next moment she has to show how tiring it is for her to maintain this pose. Also, she has to communicate her confusion at being attracted to the rough Captain while trying at the same time to feel a' higher love' for the polished Major. If Miss Lilley found some of the demands of her part exacting, she succeeded in providing a very attractive foil for Bluntschli and Saranoff. Stephen Gale, as Raina's mother, gave a good impression of maternal anxiety and wordly wisdom. Mr. John Murry looked suitably distinguished as Major Page 10 Previous Page Next Page Back to Main Page