Editing Arms and the Man (section)

==Reception==
[[George Orwell]] said that ''Arms and the Man'' was written when Shaw was at the height of his powers as a dramatist. "It is probably the wittiest play he ever wrote, the most flawless technically, and in spite of being a very light comedy, the most telling."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arms and the Man {{!}} Western Washington University |url=https://cfpa.wwu.edu/event/arms-and-man |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=cfpa.wwu.edu}}</ref> His other plays of the period, equally well written, were about issues that, according to Orwell, were no longer controversial at the time Orwell was writing. For example, the theme of ''[[Mrs. Warren's Profession]]'', which so shocked audiences at the time, was that the causes of prostitution are mainly economic, which was already a common opinion in Orwell's time, and the play ''[[Widowers' Houses]]'' was an attack on slum landlords, who had since become stock villains.<ref>George Orwell,''George Bernard Shaw'', Chapter 8 in ''George Orwell, The Lost Writings'', Edited by W. J. West, Arbor House, New York, 1985.This also appears as Chapter 8 in ''Orwell, The War Broadcasts'', Edited by W. J .West, The British Broadcasting Corporation, and The Old Piano Factory, London, 1985.</ref>

In 2024, an attempt to stage [[John Malkovich]]'s production of the play at [[Ivan Vazov National Theatre]] of Bulgaria was targeted by [[nationalist]] protesters that considered it a calumny of Bulgaria. The mob surrounded the theatre, threw [[smoke bomb]]s, prevented the visitors that had bought tickets from entering the theatre hall, accusing them of being traitors and threatening them, and physically assaulted the director of the play and the director of the theatre.<ref>[https://www.svobodnaevropa.bg/a/protest-naroden-teatar-piesa-dzhon-malkovichc/33192255.html Националисти провалиха постановка на Джон Малкович и атакуваха зрители пред Народния театър. Свободна Европа. 7.11.2024]</ref><ref>[https://www.24chasa.bg/ozhivlenie/article/19276706 Срамен бой и дим като на мач в Народния театър, връщат пари на хората, купили билети за премиерата на Малкович. 24 часа. 7.11.2024]</ref>