PLAYING next at the Chesil theatre, Winchester is Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw, which runs from Monday. Directed by Caroline Helcke, this classic satire highlights the illusions of war, romance and class.

Set in small town Bulgaria in the 1880s: Raina, high-minded daughter of an army major, romantically idolises her fianc, who is fighting for his country. But when a Swiss mercenary climbs through her bedroom window and into her life she makes some fascinating discoveries about herself - and others.

Director Caroline Helcke says: "In this play, Bernard Shaw wittily combines high comedy with romantic misconceptions of love and warfare.

"First produced on the London stage in 1894, it is, with Pygmalion (My Fair Lady), one of his most popular plays.

"We have in Shaw an irreverent and controversial writer who was breaking new ground in his plays, replacing the hypocrisy and artificiality of the Victorian stage with a theatre of vital ideas."

Chesil Theatre, Winchester, 7.45pm, Monday April 4 to Saturday, April 9. Tickets £8.50 (All Monday night tickets reduced.)

Box office: 01962 877977