Showing results by author "Bernard Shaw" in All Categories

Candida is a witty and thought-provoking comedy by the renowned playwright George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1898 as part of his collection, Plays Pleasant. The story revolves around clergyman James Morell, his spirited wife Candida, and the earnest young poet, Eugene Marchbanks, who seeks to capture her heart. Through this captivating narrative, Shaw challenges Victorian ideals of love and marriage, exploring the deeper desires of women in a patriarchal society. With Morell as a Fabian Socialist, Shaw seamlessly integrates the political climate of his time into the fabric of the play, ...

Dive into the intriguing world of The Admirable Bashville, a thought-provoking exploration of copyright law as it applies to the stage and literature. In this satirical work by George Bernard Shaw, we witness how the current copyright system allows anyone to claim stage rights to a novel, regardless of its merit. Shaw, a passionate Socialist, critiques this system, suggesting that while he supports limited property rights, he finds it outrageous that someone could secure ownership over an authors work. This engaging narrative raises vital questions about authorship, property, and the rights of...

This captivating play explores the life of Candida, the wife of the renowned clergyman, Reverend James Mavor Morell. Morell, a popular Christian Socialist within the Church of England, owes much of his success to Candidas unwavering support. However, when she returns home from a trip to London accompanied by the young poet Eugene Marchbanks—who believes he can offer her a life beyond the confines of her mundane domesticity—the dynamics shift dramatically. Marchbanks is infatuated with Candida, viewing her as a divine figure deserving of more than mere complacency in her marriage. While ...

One of Shaw's most enduring works, Pygmalion is an insightful comedy of class relations and perceptions, as played out between a Cockney flower girl and the irascible speech professor who has taken her on as a pet project.

Eight of George Bernard Shaw's most memorable plays in one splendid collection: Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Arms and the Man, Candida, The Devil’s Disciple, Major Barbara, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Misalliance, and Pygmalion.

George Bernard Shaw - or Bernard Shaw, as he preferred to be known - was one of Ireland's foremost dramatists and thinkers. His plays range from contemporary satires to historical allegories, and are infused with ideas, insight, wit and wisdom. Included here are some of his best works, adapted for radio and brought together in reverse chronological order in one statement collection.

Man and Superman was the first drama to be broadcast on the BBC's Third Programme on October 1, 1946. To celebrate Radio 3's 50th anniversary, the play was directed by Sir Peter Hall, and preserved for all time in this lush audio dramatization. 'A comedy and a philosophy', Man and Superman is based on the Don Juan theme, and using all the elements from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Shaw reordered them so that Don Juan becomes the quarry instead of the huntsman.

A new version of this classic starring Stephen Fry. A chance encounter leads to flower girl Eliza Dootlittle undergoing a life changing transformation.

With Saint Joan, George Bernard Shaw reached the height of his fame as a dramatist. Fascinated by the story of Joan of Arc but unhappy with "the whitewash which disfigures her beyond recognition," he presents a realistic Joan at war not just with British invaders but with realpolitik. This is a masterpiece of the theater of ideas, presented in the most eloquent, vital, human, and moving terms.

Irascible 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.

Pygmalion remains one of the most popular stories, but mainly in the medium of the musical; the evergreen My Fair Lady. But much of the charm and wit comes from the words and timing in Shaw's original play. Here are the characters of Professor Higgins, his friend Colonel Pickering, and their charge, Eliza Doolittle.

This witty masterpiece combines high comedy with social commentary as it deflates romantic misconceptions of love and warfare. First produced on the London stage in 1894, Arms and the Man is one of the most frequently acted and studied of Shaw's plays.

Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion is a witty and thought-provoking play that explores themes of social class, transformation, and the power of language. First performed in 1913, the play remains one of Shaw's most celebrated works, blending comedy with sharp social critique. The story follows Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetics expert, who makes a bet with his friend, Colonel Pickering, that he can transform a poor flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a refined lady simply by teaching her proper speech and manners. Eliza, eager to improve her station in life, agrees to the experiment.

Barbara is a major in the Salvation Army - but she's also the daughter of Andrew Undershaft, a man who's made millions from the sale of weapons of war. The real battle, however, rages between between the devilish father and his idealistic daughter as they answer the question: does salvation come through faith or finance? This sparkling comedy traverses family relations, religion, ethics and politics - as only Shaw, the master dramatist, can!

Never has the Revolutionary War been so entertaining. Shaw stands "do or die" melodrama on its head, with a cast of unforgettable characters, from the deliciously urbane "Gentlemanly Johnny" Burgoyne, to the misguided romanticism of beautiful young Judith Anderson, to the Devil's Disciple himself, a dashing young American hero who disdains heroism, even as he makes the ultimate sacrifice for honor and country.

Modern parallels abound in the plight of Cambridge-educated mathematics wiz Vivie Warren, who discovers that her comfortable upbringing was financed in unspeakable ways. George Bernard Shaw pits a clever heroine against a memorable gallery of rogues in this superbly intelligent (and still shocking) comedy, banned for eight years from the English stage.

In the Greek legend, a sculptor, Pygmalion, created a statue of a woman so beautiful that he fell in love with it. Later the goddess Aphrodite responded to his earnest prayers and brought the statue, named Galatea, to life. Shaw's Pygmalion is a fussy unmarried professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, who claims that he could train an uneducated person off the street to speak so that he or she could pass as a member of the aristocracy. His Galatea is Eliza Doolittle, who sells flowers at Covent Garden and whose father is a dissipated but cunning vagrant.

This unique book brings together George Bernard Shaw's witty and iconoclastic take on Wagner's masterwork, The Ring of the Nibelungen, with the composer's own essay on the role of art in revolution.

Bernard Shaw based his "religious pantomime" Androcles and the Lion on the ancient fable of the runaway slave who pulls a painful thorn from a lion's paw, thereby making a lifelong friend. This tale of a puny Greek tailor triumphing over the Roman emperor is, as always with Shaw, a commentary on the politics of his time, with the emperor standing in for the British government and, indeed, all repressive regimes.

The Emporor of Rome and the Queen of the Nile as only Shaw could have imagined them! He is a self-doubting cynic who is experiencing a mid-life crisis and she is an imperious and impertinent child on the threshold of womanhood. This recording also includes Shaw's alternate Prologue and his post-text notes.