George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw began writing plays in 1885. In December of 1892, Shaw's first play, Widower's Houses, was produced. It was disliked by the old-fashioned theatre-goers, who thought it too different. Shaw's next attempt at writing a play was The Philanderer. It was not performed until twelve years after it was finished. But this proved to be more successful than his next play, Mrs. Warren's Profession, which was not performed until 1925. The reason for the wait was that the Lord Chamberlain would not give it a licence due to its content. Its theme showed a prostitute receiving greater awards than an honest working woman. In this photograph Eileen Atkins is playing in "St. Joan" a play by George Bernard Shaw. [AL] {EB}