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Plays Unpleasant
This volume contains a small collection of plays written by Bernard Shaw. These thought-provoking plays aim to challenge the audience’s moral complacency apropos serious social issues and injustices. Unusual and intriguing, they will greatly appeal to fans of Shaw’s work. The plays contained herein “Widowers’ Houses”, “The Philanderer”, and “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”. George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) was an Irish playwright who co-founded the London School of Economics. Many vintage texts such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this book now, in an affordable, high-quality, modern edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned biography of the author.
398 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2015
About the author
George Bernard Shaw
2,286 books4,206 followersGeorge Bernard Shaw stands as one of the most prolific and influential intellectuals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a man whose literary output was matched only by his fervent commitment to social reform. Rising from a modest background in Dublin to become a global icon of letters, Shaw redefined the purpose of the stage, transforming it from a place of mere entertainment into a forum for rigorous intellectual debate and moral inquiry. His unique "Shavian" style—characterized by sharp-witted dialogue, paradoxical reasoning, and a relentless assault on Victorian hypocrisy—ensured that his voice resonated far beyond the footlights. As a playwright, critic, and philosopher, he remains a singular figure in history, being one of only two individuals to have been honored with both a Nobel Prize in Literature and an Academy Award. This rare crossover of high-art recognition and mainstream cinematic success speaks to his versatility and the enduring relevance of his narratives. His dramatic work, which includes over sixty plays, often tackled the most pressing issues of his day, from the rigid structures of the British class system to the complexities of gender roles and the ethical dilemmas of capitalism. In masterpieces like Pygmalion, he used the science of phonetics to demonstrate the artificiality of class distinctions, a theme that would later reach millions through the musical adaptation My Fair Lady. In Man and Superman, he delved into the philosophical concepts of the "Life Force" and the evolution of the human spirit, while Major Barbara forced audiences to confront the uncomfortable relationship between religious idealism and the industrial military complex. Beyond his theatrical achievements, Shaw was a foundational force in political thought, serving as a leading light of the Fabian Society. His advocacy for gradual socialist reform, rather than violent revolution, helped shape the trajectory of modern British politics and social welfare. He was instrumental in the creation of the London School of Economics, an institution that continues to influence global policy and economic theory. Shaw was also a formidable critic, whose reviews of music and drama set new standards for the profession, characterized by an uncompromising honesty and a deep knowledge of the arts. His personal lifestyle was as distinctive as his writing; a committed vegetarian, teetotaler, and non-smoker, he lived with a disciplined focus that allowed him to remain productive well into his ninth decade. He was a man of contradictions, often engaging in provocative public discourse that challenged the status quo, even when his views sparked intense controversy. His fascination with the "Superman" archetype and his occasional support for authoritarian figures reflected a complex, often elitist worldview that sought the betterment of humanity through radical intellectual evolution. Despite these complexities, his core mission was always rooted in a profound humanitarianism and a desire to expose the delusions that prevented society from progressing. He believed that the power of the written word could strip away the masks of respectability that hid social injustice, and his plays continue to be staged worldwide because the human foibles he satirized remain as prevalent today as they were during his lifetime. By blending humor with gravity and intellect with accessibility, Shaw created a body of work that serves as both a mirror and a compass for modern civilization. His legacy is not just in the scripts he left behind, but in the very way we think about the intersection of art, politics, and the individual’s responsibility to the collective good. He remains the quintessential public intellectual, a man who never feared to speak his mind or to demand that the world become a more rational and equitable place.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 5, 2016
Plays Unpleasant:-
WIDOWERS' HOUSES: -
In a way this play is a companion of Mrs. Warren's Profession, both about money earned by a parent through unsavoury means of varying questionable repute, of course this one being far more common than the other both in practice and held not so often repugnant by society - rich society that is - but morally no less, in fact in some ways more, reprehensible.
Mrs. Warren's profession is held in n good repute anywhere in the world, but it can be argued that most people in that profession are not in it from choice as much as from either being kidnapped and brought into it or from necessities of survival of a family which often when needed to be provided by a woman she might find little or almost no recourse. When one is safe, moralising about another's circumstance is all very well; it is likely to be another story when it is your own child's survival in question and you have not much of a choice.
This one is about rich people who earn their living by providing housing bordering on slum to the poor and then charging extortion level rents while providing little or no amenities, and evicting those that default at short notice without care about if they could in fact survive.
And yet most rich could hardly stand a scrutiny about the roots of their wealth - if it is not opium or colonial (robbery) it might be something akin to this, or worse - it might be selling things that actually damage those that pay for them. Not just illegal substances, either - often legal substances can be just as bad for health, even lethal, and yet they take time to become known as dangerous or worthless at best. Even today that is true of much that forms multibillion industries, in much misused names of fun or beauty.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
................................................................
................................................................
THE PHILANDERER: -
Women - and too, enlightened men - were in favour of womens' education, property and voting rights, enfranchisement, suffragists demanding and chaining themselves. many identified these movements with left for obvious reasons - it seemed against interest of any conservatives to lose any source of free labour, and women just as slaves or colonial possessions were source of it.
But most people also misunderstood womens' liberty and freedom first and foremost in the wrongest possible direction - one that would actually benefit men. Some people saw it coming and they were not all against womens' rights - and Mr. Shaw was one such man.
With women free, and access to women granted freely to any man, those that had no honourable intentions were in heaven. They could play with womens' hearts and discard them - all in name of womens' freedom, since the misunderstanding was, it was about no chaperone watching over to make sure their real important rights were guarded - those related to just such men not destroying hearts and lives.
This is the story of just such a woman who has a heart and would hide it behind talk of freedom, so she can try to attract one playing with her heart, her subsequent - or even, consequent - heartbreak when it is clear he never had any intention that could be then called honourable (now the word has gone out of usage, almost), and the philanderer who nevertheless sees what havoc he has wreaked, with clear eyes.
Monday, September 22, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
MRS WARREN'S PROFESSION: -
Age old dilemma of society - "respectable"vs. the other side, and the need of one for the other. It must have of course been extremely controversial when it was written - and published - but this writer was always more than equal to any criticism and could always argue either side of a debate with reason.
This one is not a comedy, though, and one is presented with Mrs. Warren's side quite reasonably.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
Friday, July 9, 2010.
................................................................
................................................................
Plays Pleasant:-
Arms and the Man:-
What seems obvious might after all not be so, and those that are seemingly snobbish and haughty might be not as affluent after all as those that seem casual or even comic. those that speak of love and are rewarded for their bravery might have never experienced either.
And then there is Switzerland, the beautiful land with snow and meadows and chocolate and cheese, and contradictions - a country that never fought a war in recent history but has always hired out mercenaries to every nation.
September 10, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
Candida:-
Revolutionary, as much else by Mr. Shaw, this work, about a luminous woman with her own mind and strength and wisdom - perhaps much like your wife or mother, at that - and entirely worthy of more than reading. About love and truth about love, and about marriage. About strength, and about one's responsibility.
Once it was understood without hypocrisy that a man looked for a wife who could make a home for him, and a woman had to make the best possible choice at every moment, either gambling on getting a better offer, or taking the best she had, in marrying a man who could provide for the home she would make. Few were lucky to find love as well, at the same time - most did the best they could, and things have not changed in this respect, only there is more hypocrisy in name of love.
Love is not so easy to either find or choose or live with.
Love might very well be a man too young to provide a family for the woman whom he fell in love with - she might be married, with a family, if she is lucky, not still waiting and dispirited. Will she then choose him? Or will conservative values win and she advise the younger man, the lover, to go find someone appropriate?
If she does, it might just be that she has wisdom and courage to name the real reasons for her decision, and explain them. A woman - a wife and mother, in potential and instinct even when not de facto - chooses the weaker one, to care for and to protect with all she has to give, which is love and care and understanding and more.
A scrawny young poet, and a respected much loved minister, who does the woman choose? Or does she have to choose between them?
Monday, September 22, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
The Man of Destiny:-
Napoleon.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
................................................................
................................................................
You Never Can Tell:-
Often when one lets it go, rather than pursue the question, the answer quietly steals into awareness, and so it happened with this play. It took some time to try to remember what this title was related to - I was sure I had read and liked it, but no clue of any sort of a connection to a story from the title in memory. Until suddenly I remembered a play, and I think this is the one.
If I am right this is about the unexpected reconciliation of a family of an emancipated woman who took away her children when the husband - their father - whipping the eldest one, a little girl, was an immediate prospect.
The reconciliation happens when the eldest is a grown up young woman on verge of womanhood who is unsure of herself, and the other daughter a cheeky self confident youngster who has no qualms about putting any adult off balance with her astute observations, which the brother achieves in other ways.
Much hilarity, heartwarming and sometimes a little heartbreaking ensues while the unexpected encounter, subsequent meetings and very carefully arranged reconciliation happens.
For a special Shaw touch, there is the waiter, everyone's beloved confidante, who has a son at the bar.
Come to think of it the name is entirely apt - how could this play have any other name?!! Unless it was something as prosaic and yet uncommon as Sophronia's Family.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
Saturday, February 22, 2014.
................................................................
................................................................
WIDOWERS' HOUSES: -
In a way this play is a companion of Mrs. Warren's Profession, both about money earned by a parent through unsavoury means of varying questionable repute, of course this one being far more common than the other both in practice and held not so often repugnant by society - rich society that is - but morally no less, in fact in some ways more, reprehensible.
Mrs. Warren's profession is held in n good repute anywhere in the world, but it can be argued that most people in that profession are not in it from choice as much as from either being kidnapped and brought into it or from necessities of survival of a family which often when needed to be provided by a woman she might find little or almost no recourse. When one is safe, moralising about another's circumstance is all very well; it is likely to be another story when it is your own child's survival in question and you have not much of a choice.
This one is about rich people who earn their living by providing housing bordering on slum to the poor and then charging extortion level rents while providing little or no amenities, and evicting those that default at short notice without care about if they could in fact survive.
And yet most rich could hardly stand a scrutiny about the roots of their wealth - if it is not opium or colonial (robbery) it might be something akin to this, or worse - it might be selling things that actually damage those that pay for them. Not just illegal substances, either - often legal substances can be just as bad for health, even lethal, and yet they take time to become known as dangerous or worthless at best. Even today that is true of much that forms multibillion industries, in much misused names of fun or beauty.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
................................................................
................................................................
THE PHILANDERER: -
Women - and too, enlightened men - were in favour of womens' education, property and voting rights, enfranchisement, suffragists demanding and chaining themselves. many identified these movements with left for obvious reasons - it seemed against interest of any conservatives to lose any source of free labour, and women just as slaves or colonial possessions were source of it.
But most people also misunderstood womens' liberty and freedom first and foremost in the wrongest possible direction - one that would actually benefit men. Some people saw it coming and they were not all against womens' rights - and Mr. Shaw was one such man.
With women free, and access to women granted freely to any man, those that had no honourable intentions were in heaven. They could play with womens' hearts and discard them - all in name of womens' freedom, since the misunderstanding was, it was about no chaperone watching over to make sure their real important rights were guarded - those related to just such men not destroying hearts and lives.
This is the story of just such a woman who has a heart and would hide it behind talk of freedom, so she can try to attract one playing with her heart, her subsequent - or even, consequent - heartbreak when it is clear he never had any intention that could be then called honourable (now the word has gone out of usage, almost), and the philanderer who nevertheless sees what havoc he has wreaked, with clear eyes.
Monday, September 22, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
MRS WARREN'S PROFESSION: -
Age old dilemma of society - "respectable"vs. the other side, and the need of one for the other. It must have of course been extremely controversial when it was written - and published - but this writer was always more than equal to any criticism and could always argue either side of a debate with reason.
This one is not a comedy, though, and one is presented with Mrs. Warren's side quite reasonably.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
Friday, July 9, 2010.
................................................................
................................................................
Plays Pleasant:-
Arms and the Man:-
What seems obvious might after all not be so, and those that are seemingly snobbish and haughty might be not as affluent after all as those that seem casual or even comic. those that speak of love and are rewarded for their bravery might have never experienced either.
And then there is Switzerland, the beautiful land with snow and meadows and chocolate and cheese, and contradictions - a country that never fought a war in recent history but has always hired out mercenaries to every nation.
September 10, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
Candida:-
Revolutionary, as much else by Mr. Shaw, this work, about a luminous woman with her own mind and strength and wisdom - perhaps much like your wife or mother, at that - and entirely worthy of more than reading. About love and truth about love, and about marriage. About strength, and about one's responsibility.
Once it was understood without hypocrisy that a man looked for a wife who could make a home for him, and a woman had to make the best possible choice at every moment, either gambling on getting a better offer, or taking the best she had, in marrying a man who could provide for the home she would make. Few were lucky to find love as well, at the same time - most did the best they could, and things have not changed in this respect, only there is more hypocrisy in name of love.
Love is not so easy to either find or choose or live with.
Love might very well be a man too young to provide a family for the woman whom he fell in love with - she might be married, with a family, if she is lucky, not still waiting and dispirited. Will she then choose him? Or will conservative values win and she advise the younger man, the lover, to go find someone appropriate?
If she does, it might just be that she has wisdom and courage to name the real reasons for her decision, and explain them. A woman - a wife and mother, in potential and instinct even when not de facto - chooses the weaker one, to care for and to protect with all she has to give, which is love and care and understanding and more.
A scrawny young poet, and a respected much loved minister, who does the woman choose? Or does she have to choose between them?
Monday, September 22, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
The Man of Destiny:-
Napoleon.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
................................................................
................................................................
You Never Can Tell:-
Often when one lets it go, rather than pursue the question, the answer quietly steals into awareness, and so it happened with this play. It took some time to try to remember what this title was related to - I was sure I had read and liked it, but no clue of any sort of a connection to a story from the title in memory. Until suddenly I remembered a play, and I think this is the one.
If I am right this is about the unexpected reconciliation of a family of an emancipated woman who took away her children when the husband - their father - whipping the eldest one, a little girl, was an immediate prospect.
The reconciliation happens when the eldest is a grown up young woman on verge of womanhood who is unsure of herself, and the other daughter a cheeky self confident youngster who has no qualms about putting any adult off balance with her astute observations, which the brother achieves in other ways.
Much hilarity, heartwarming and sometimes a little heartbreaking ensues while the unexpected encounter, subsequent meetings and very carefully arranged reconciliation happens.
For a special Shaw touch, there is the waiter, everyone's beloved confidante, who has a son at the bar.
Come to think of it the name is entirely apt - how could this play have any other name?!! Unless it was something as prosaic and yet uncommon as Sophronia's Family.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008.
................................................................
................................................................
Saturday, February 22, 2014.
................................................................
................................................................
Displaying 1 of 1 review