Shows / The George Bernard Shaw Library
The George Bernard Shaw Library
The George Bernard Shaw Library presents the works of George Bernard Shaw in full: plays, prefaces, arguments, provocations, and all the inconvenient ideas respectable society might prefer to leave unopened.
Shaw wrote to entertain, certainly. But also to irritate, unsettle, contradict, and make his audience think. Here you can hear his words as they were meant to unfold: not as quotations or summaries, but whole, alive, and given room to argue their case.
Enter for the wit, stay for the…
Episodes
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 16
In which a solemn delegation confronts the eerie spectacle of an ancient oracle in a temple suspended over a fathomless abyss, wrestling with the futility of…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 15
In which a grim dialogue unfolds between a wizened oracle and a fiercely self-assured emperor, revealing a society where longevity breeds contempt for past…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 14
In which a sprightly and long-lived interlocutor named Zoo engages in a spirited dialectic with a staid elderly gentleman about the nature of life, progress…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 13
In which a discussion of prudence and mortality leads to a technological invitation, abruptly declined for reasons both practical and personal, and an elderly…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 12
In which a small assembly of government officials confronts the astonishing reality of unnaturally prolonged life, pondering its implications with a mixture of…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 11
In which a group of distinguished personages debate the curious extension of human life and the social perturbations it brings, revealing profound changes in…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 10
In which a spirited debate unfolds among characters of varying temperaments on the prospects of Socialism, the nature of human longevity, and the…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 9
In which two scholarly brothers, one a former clergyman and the other a biologist, engage in lively discourse about the prospects of extending human life and…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 8
In which the primordial family grapples with the ceaseless struggle between creation and destruction, embodied by the aged Adam's digging and the warlike…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 7
In which a pair of primordial beings confront the unsettling reality of mortality and the burden of endless existence, grappling with the voice of an ancient…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 6
In which Mr Shaw contemplates the uneasy dance between superstition and science, urging the shedding of literalist dogmas in favour of a shared, allegorical…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 5
In which the triumph of Darwinism and Marxism unseats traditional moral and social certainties, unveiling a world governed by brutal economic and natural laws…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 4
In which the discourse gently unmasks the blind alleys and cruelties spawned by an unyielding belief in Circumstantial Selection, wistfully lamenting the…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 3
In which a spirited discourse unfolds on the riddle of creation, tackling the entanglement of belief and scepticism with a mix of wit and gravitas, whilst…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 2
In which the principles of Lamarckian evolution are carefully elucidated, illustrating how the desires and repeated efforts of living beings may bring forth…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Back to Methuselah Section 1
In which a reflective mind traces the gradual dawn of evolutionary thought from ancient murmurs to the Neo-Darwinian ascendancy, while lamenting the political…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
You Never Can Tell Act IV
In which a formidable lawyer arrives to unravel the intricate social fabric of the Clandon family, navigating disputes over names, appearances, and proprieties…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
You Never Can Tell Act III
In which the Clandon family’s tea-time unfolds amidst sharp revelations and delicate power plays, with Mrs. Clandon addressing matters of love and…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
You Never Can Tell Act II
In which the quiet Marine Hotel terrace becomes the scene of delicate revelations and delicate tensions, as an unexpected reunion toys with notions of family…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
You Never Can Tell Act I
In which a fledgling dentist of modest means encounters the spirited and unconventional Clandon family at a seaside resort, revealing their complex…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Candida Act 3
In which a tender and somewhat fraught evening unfolds as Candida navigates the competing affections of two very different men by her fireside, each laying…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Candida Act 2
In which a young and hesitant poet, Eugene Marchbanks, attempts to navigate the complexities of love and social propriety amidst the bustling household of the…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Candida Act 1
In which a conscientious clergyman's quiet suburban morning is disrupted by the arrival of his formidable father-in-law and a shy young poet whose passionate…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Arms and the Man Act 3
In which the tranquil domesticity of a Bulgarian country house is playfully disrupted by the arrival of military orders, wagers on missing coats, and a lively…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Arms and the Man Act 2
In which the tranquil spring garden of Major Petkoff’s household becomes the stage for the return of its war-weary residents, whose interactions reveal the…
- The George Bernard Shaw Library
Arms and the Man Act 1
In which a night of martial excitement and uneasy peace unfolds in the private chamber of a Bulgarian lady, where the romantic ideals of heroism clash with the…