Romanoff and Juliet

Peter Ustinov's play, a 20th Century West End hit, is set in the smallest of all mythical countries, lying smack on the border between East and West.

The country is so small that it has a standing army of two — and the army doesn't even stand, but slouches. Lying as it does right between the East and the West, each of these world divisions seeks to make the President an ally. Russia sends an ambassador — a Romanoff, no less. The U.S. dispatches one of its typical business diplomats. One of the high points of this delightful comedy is the scene in which 'el President' shuttles between the rival embassies, listening to their blandishments and threats.

Full of the most delightful comic satire on Cold War international affairs, the play follows the frustrated romance between the son of the Russian ambassador and the daughter of the American ambassador against a background of inept diplomacy.