Search results for ""Author Bernard Shaw""

The second of Shaw's “unpleasant” plays, written in 1893, published in 1898, but not performed until 1905, The Philanderer is subtitled “A Topical Comedy.” The eclectic range of topical subjects addressed in the play includes the influence of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen on British middle-class social mores (the second act of The Philanderer is set in the fictional Ibsen Club), medical follies, the rise of the “New Woman,” and, in particular, the destructive impact of Victorian marriage and divorce laws. Just as Shaw’s other “unpleasant” plays, Widowers’ Houses and Mrs Warren’s Profession, call, respectively, for reform of laws that allow corrupt property owners to exploit the poor and for radical change to economic structures that drive women into prostitution, so The Philanderer makes the case for more liberal legislation to allow easier divorce—particularly for women—when marriages become irretrievably broken.Shaw’s attack on divorce laws becomes even clearer and stronger in the final act that he wrote for the play but discarded in favour of the version he published. The discarded version is published for the first time in this Broadview edition of the play.

Read more less

The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism, Capitalism, Sovietism, and Fascism As a lifelong socialist, Shaw believed that economic inequality was a poison destroying every aspect of human life, perverting family affections and the relations between the sexes. According to him, all British institutions were "corrupted at the root by pecuniary interest" - and idealism, integrity and any piecemeal attempts at political reform were futile in the face of the gross injustice built into the Empire's economic system. Begun in 1924 - the year of the British Labour Party's first period of office under Ramsay MacDonald (who hailed it as "the world's most important book since the Bible") - and first published in 1928, The Intelligent Woman's Guide draws on Shaw's decades of activism and remains a brilliant, thoughtprovoking classic of political propaganda.

Read more less

'Not bloody likely' Ever since Pygmalion opened in London in April 1914 it has proved a very controversial play, from the (then) shocking language, to arguments about its correct ending. Critical interpretations have been similarly disputatious, encompassing views of the transformation of the impoverished Eliza Doolittle by phonetics expert Henry Higgins as either a story of economic and social liberation, or an example of the perpetuation of male control and self-interest. With subsequent film and musical adaptations and many stage revivals, Pygmalion remains one of Shaw's most engaging, provocative, and accessible plays. This new edition of Pygmalion includes Shaw's definitive text, with both Preface and Sequel, and provides the most comprehensive scholarly treatment of the play to date, containing: * a substantial introduction with biographical information on Shaw * detailed discussion of the genesis and sources of the play * varying interpretations, and a lengthy international stage history. * textual notes on each page explaining language, allusions, and staging * Appendices with Shaw's discarded scenes for the play, the British Censor's 1914 report, and texts of all stage and film endings of Pygmalion.

Read more less

"What use are cartridges in battle? I always carry chocolate instead." Cheered by some and booed by others on opening night in 1894, Arms and the Man became the first success of Bernard Shaw's dramatic career that spanned six decades and brought him world-wide renown. In this perennially popular anti-romantic comedy, a fugitive enemy soldier bursts into the bedroom of a starry-eyed young woman; he then proceeds to disabuse her and those around her of the bogus romanticised ideals they have constructed around love, war, and social status. This edition includes Shaw's definitive text and provides the most comprehensive scholarly treatment of the play to date. It radically re-examines Shaw's sources, the drafts of the play, its themes and self-fictionalising techniques, and locates it in the theatrical milieu that Shaw sought to subvert and revolutionize.

Read more less

'What other judgment can I judge by but my own?' Charting the meteoric rise and fall of Joan of Arc and her mission to drive the English from France, Shaw's Saint Joan draws directly on the medieval records to cut through the sentiment that characterized previous literary treatments of her story. A powerful example of a new kind of history play, its staging of dissent and social constraint, personal responsibility and female assertion, as well as fervent adherence to a cause, gave it a powerful modernity in its own day and continuing resonance in ours. Acclaimed internationally, this instant modern classic propelled Shaw to the Nobel Prize for 1925. This new edition includes Shaw's definitive text and full Preface and provides the most comprehensive scholarly treatment of the play to date, featuring commentary on: * the historical and theatrical context * the development of the text and stage-worthiness of the play * correlation of the dialogue with the records of Jeanne D'Arc's trial * an international stage history * an appendix identifying the historical models for the characters

Read more less

'Shaw's refusal to moralise about the sex trade, only about the system that supports it, provides the play with its dramatic tension and surprising modernity.' Guardian Shaw's 1893 play centres on the mother and daughter relationship between Kitty Warren and her Cambridge-educated daughter, Vivie, who is currently enjoying a comfortable and financially untroubled life. Kitty's own upbringing was far from easy, however, and meant that she eventually had to make money through prostitution and then through the management of several brothels. When Vivie discovers that her mother brought her up and funded Vivie's Cambridge education on the money made from these pursuits, she is horrified and can barely cope. What's more, Vivie discovers that her mother's brothels are still in operation. Students will find a wealth of information in this text to guide their studies: an extended introduction exploring the theatrical and historical context, critical reactions, background on the author, and stage history. It also includes Shaw's original Preface, and the play itself contains numerous notes and explanations throughout to aid students' understanding.

Read more less

Bernard Shaw was twenty-four and Sidney Webb twenty-one when they met in October 1880 at a gathering of a debating club called the Zetetical Society. Having sympathetic interests, both men decided, after some personal and joint exploration, to devote their lives to improving the human condition. This collection of 140 annotated letters, 74 of which have never been published, documents the subsequent friendship and collaboration shared by Shaw, Webb, and Webb's wife Beatrice, throughout their lives. The letters, written between 1883 and 1946, discuss the founding of the Fabian Society, the British Labour Party, the London School of Economics, and the New Statesman through the Boer, First, and Second World Wars. Fully annotated with headnotes and footnotes, this collection will expand the general view of Shaw the dramatist to incorporate Shaw the political activist and lifelong friend of the Webbs.

Read more less

A star-studded BBC radio production of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion – plus bonus drama The ‘B’ Word, telling the story of the play’s scandalous opening nightIrascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can train Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle to talk ‘like a lady’ and pass as a duchess at the Ambassador’s Ball. As the day of reckoning approaches, can Eliza convince the assembled aristocrats that she’s one of them? And what will become of her afterwards?This effervescent radio version of Shaw’s classic comedy features a stellar cast, including award-winning comedians Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins, Morgana Robinson as Eliza Doolittle and Al Murray as Alfred Doolittle.Also featured on this release is The ‘B’ Word, written by and starring Alistair McGowan as Bernard Shaw. Centring on the shocking opening night of Pygmalion – the first time that the word ‘bloody' was used on the British stage – it also explores the passionate love-hate relationship between Shaw; his leading man, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (Richard McCabe) and his leading lady, Mrs Patrick Campbell (Charlotte Page), who played the 19-year-old Eliza Doolittle at the age of 49.Cast and creditsPygmalionHenry Higgins……………………Alistair McGowanEliza Doolittle……………………Morgana RobinsonAlfred Doolittle……………………Al MurrayColonel Pickering……………………Hugh FraserMrs Higgins……………………Siân PhillipsMrs Pearce/Maid……………………Charlotte PageMrs Eynsford-Hill……………………Georgie GlenClara Eynsford-Hill……………………Maeve Bluebell WellsFreddy Eynsford-Hill.....……………………Tom ForristerNepommuck……………………David SturzakerAmbassador……………………John DougallAmbassador's wife……………………Sarah RidgewayBystander……………………David SterneWritten by Bernard ShawProduced and directed by Emma HardingThe ‘B’ WordBernard Shaw……………………Alistair McGowanGeorge Alexander……………………David SturzakerMrs Patrick Campbell.....……………………Charlotte PageSir Herbert Beerbohm Tree……………………Richard McCabeCharlotte Shaw……………………Georgie GlenMerivale……………………Philip FoxGurney/Fishman……………………Simon LuddersBell……………………Charlie ClementsMaid……………………Sarah RidgewayWritten by Alistair McGowanProduced and directed by Emma HardingProduction Coordinator: Jenny MendezStudio Managers: Alison Craig, Caleb Knightley and Thomas GlasserDuration: 2 hours 45 mins approx.

Read more less