George Bernard Shaw is arguably the greatest English language playwright in the past 150 years. His plays deal with the issues of modern society in ways that are witty, clever and thought-provoking. His characters are memorable. He achieves one of the most difficult and satisfying results of playwriting: making social and political points with humor and without preaching. Shaw’s plays deal with many issues, including capitalism and socialism, marriage, women’s issues, religious belief and hypocrisy, the folly of war, the English view of the Irish, human foibles and arrogance and the battle of the sexes. The dialogue sparkles with wit, making the plays a pleasure to read and to view. The prefaces to some of the plays spell out more of his philosophy and will be part of the weekly readings. We will read the plays indicated in the list of weekly topics, as well as readings on Shaw’s life and some of his non-dramatic writings.

In-Person

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