The Good Soldiers was a play written by Stanoff Osterling in 2273.
When it was originally performed, most plays focused on dialogue and let the action happen off-stage, due to budget constraints after the 2150s Dalek invasion of Earth and Cyber-Wars. The Good Soldiers broke with this tradition by showing an army of robot soldiers storming the castle and killing most of the characters at the end. Because of this, contemporary reviewers lauded Osterling as the new William Shakespeare. In contrast, the Seventh Doctor considered Osterling's dialogue to be convoluted, and Irving Braxiatel thought it wasn't very good.
By 3985, while the reviews of the play were remembered, the play itself was lost. As a result, it had a legendary reputation. The original hand-written manuscript, the last copy left in existence, was kept by Irving Braxiatel in the Braxiatel Collection. He told Bernice Summerfield that he refused to publish it lest its reputation be diminished. (PROSE: Theatre of War)
When Bernice Summerfield later met Braxiatel on Dellah in the late 26th century, her knowledge of the play indicated to him that she had experience with his future self. (PROSE: Tears of the Oracle)
During the Fifth Axis occupation of the Braxiatel Collection in 2602, Martlak persuaded Braxiatel to agree with the Axis' demands by burning the cabinet that contained The Good Soldiers. Braxiatel wept as The Good Soldiers burned. (PROSE: Passing Storms)
Visteen Krane, who was widely considered the greatest actor of his age, once performed in this play. A recording of his performance of a speech from the play that referenced a candle flame was kept at the Museum of Aural Antiquities (AUDIO: Whispers of Terror)