George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
George Bernard Shaw was an Dublin playwright wrote more than 60 plays. Shaw wrote profilically about the social, political and moral issues of the day.
He was most concerned about the exploitation of the working class, and many of his writings reflect that concern. An committed socialist, Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became a great orator in and spoke on many issues which included equal rights for men and women and alleviating abuses of the working class.
Shaw's plays were first performed in the 1890s. By 1900 he was an established playwright. He wrote sixty-three plays as well novels, critiques, pamphlets and essays. He wrote more than 250,000 letters.
His first significant success as a playwright came fromtheAmerican production of The Devil's Disciple (1897). He went on to write 63 plays.
Examples include Mrs. Warren's Profession (1893), Arms and the Man (1894), Candida (1894) and You Never Can Tell (1897).
As he became more established his playsbecame more political, without diminishing their entertainment value. These works include Caesar and Cleopatra (1898), Man and Superman (1903), Major Barbara (1905) and The Doctor's Dilemma (1906)
By the 1910s, Shaw was one of the leading playwrights in the English language. His newer works including Pygmalion (1912) - on which the musical My Fair Lady (1956) is based - had long runs in London. A musical version of Arms and the Man (1894) - The Chocolate Soldier by Oscar Straus (1908) - was also very popular.