George Bernard (GB) Shaw
1856 - 1950
Born in Dublin in 1856, George Bernard Shaw was a playwright, literary critic, a socialist spokesman, and a leading figure in the 20th century theatre. Shaw's first play, Widowers' Houses was prodced by The Independent Theatre at The Royalty Theatre, London in December 1892. His play Mrs Warren’s Profession written in 1894, was originally banned by Lord Chamberlain because of its frank discussion and portrayal of prostitution. The play was finally first performed on Sunday, January 5th, 1902, at London's New Lyric Club with the distinguished actor-manager, Harley Granville-Barker among the cast. Granville Barker championed Shaw's work and produced all but one of Shaw's plays for a decade from 1904 onwards. In 1909, Yeats and Lady Gregory took a stand against censorship by staging Shaw's The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet at the Abbey, which Dublin Castle had seen fit to ban, despite the fact that the Lord Chamberlain's writ did not extend to Ireland. In 1916 in addition to staging the Shaw's 'Irish play' John Bull's Other Island, originally offered to the Abbey in 1905, but according to Lennox Robinson refused by the directors as thay believed "there was no one in the company who could play the Englishman, Broadbent". The Abbey staged Widowers' Houses and Arms and The Man in 1909 also, and in the following year staged Man and Superman and The Doctor's Dilemma. In 1925 Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.