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Great Catherine (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

The first in a double-bill of two of Shaw’s shortest works, Great Catherine evokes the social and political criticism inherent in Shaw’s works and largely achieves what it sets out to do.

With a few minor exceptions (occasionally warbling accents, for example), the Shoestring Players expertly portray their characters in front of well-crafted and elaborate sets. Joe Stratton is wonderful as the bumbling, ineffectual and perpetually drunk Russian Prince Patiomkin, and his rambunctious portrayal compliments Bernard Boland’s stern English officer.

But it is Rhonda Kennedy Rogers who really shone as Empress Catherine II, the megalomaniacal matriarch with more concern for her ego than her people. Rogers is quick to switch from snarky to giggling to tickle torture and navigates Catherine as a symbol of the spoils of "new money" while the officer’s sexist streak reinforces the spoils of old money and tradition — and they work together to convey that both are quite capable of spoiling a person. While not the riotous romp it’s intended to be, Great Catherine is still a poignant social and political critique.

The one-act Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress clocks in under an hour and boasts more laughs than Great Catherine, thanks largely to Jean-Marc Blanc’s General Stammfest.]

Blanc pulls off the boisterous and melodramatic Stammfest especially well in subtle actions, such as glancing pointedly at the phone when he’s too distraught to answer it, while his faithful sidekick Lieutenant Schneidekind (Ian Scott) answers. Scott offers a delicate balance between enthusiasm and exasperation for Stammfest’s antics, and the dynamic creates room for lots of laughs right at the start of the show. Jennifer Gottwald as Annajanska is feisty and fearless and her hidden agenda adds a new tension to the dense play. The Seinfeld-like tangents about titles highlight Stammfest’s ineptitude as a high-ranking official, and once again, Shaw has speared the military and the hypocrisy of militaristic rule. The play is smart, the players are sharp, and the double-bill ends on a high note.