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Twenty years ago the orchestra played the romantic 'Waltz of the Toreadors', the debonair married lieutenant met the delightful unwed Ghislaine - and sparks flew. Years have passed and now, faced with the gloomy reality of retirement with his hypochondriac wife, his paunch growing and his mid-life crisis in full swing, the General finds himself lost in fond memory of his old flirtation (which doesn't stop him dallying with every other appealing woman). When Ghislaine surprisingly reappears wanting to revive their past relationship, the General suddenly finds himself competing with his young amanuensis Gaston, who has managed to steal her heart before his very eyes. A bitter-sweet farce with real bite, Ranjit Bolt’s new translation of Jean Anouilh’s comic masterpiece flies up and down the emotional scale, breathlessly ranging from real pathos to high comedy to wincing irony.