Mrs. Warren’s Profession

(July 26, 1856 –  November 2, 1950)

George Bernard Shaw had his first play produced in 1892 at the age of 36 and his last in 1950, aged 94. Few playwrights have been as productive, with more than 60 plays and a career spanning 58 years. Second only to Shakespeare in his influence on the development of drama in the UK, Shaw was also a noted theatre and music critic, polemicist, novelist and political activist. He was consistently known for his adroit, witty and provocative contributions to debates concerning British society, many of which remain relevant today.

He was born at 3 Upper Synge Street, Dublin, in 1856, the youngest of three and only son of George Carr Shaw and Lucinda Elizabeth (Bessie) Shaw. He left formal education in 1871 to work as a clerk in a Dublin firm of land agents, before leaving Dublin for London in 1876, never to return. From 1880 onwards, he earned a living as a full-time writer. He wrote four novels in the early 1880s and became a member of the Fabian Society in 1884, composing its first manifesto soon after joining. Before writing the plays for which he became famous, he published The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891), outlining his admiration for the Norwegian playwright.

Shaw wrote his first full-length play, Widower’s House, in 1892, followed by Mrs Warren’s Profession in 1893, which faced years of delays before being cleared for public performance in 1925. Arms and the Man (1894) brought his first success, followed by The Devil’s Disciple (1897), Man and Superman (1902), Major Barbara (1905), John Bull’s Other Island (1907), Pygmalion (1914), Heartbreak House (1920) and Saint Joan (1923). Their success played no small part in Shaw being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.

Shaw married Charlotte Paynes-Townshend in 1898 and moved with her to Ayot Saint Lawrence in 1906, their home for the rest of their lives. He became an Irish citizen in 1934 but lived out his life in the UK, dying on 2 November 1950.

Shaw was close to those involved in the Irish Literary Revival and contributed to debates on Ireland’s anti-colonial struggle. He permitted the Abbey Theatre to premiere The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet (1909) to demonstrate the contradictions and hypocrisy in censorship laws as applied in England and Ireland. Shaw was a pioneer of a theatre of ideas, using his unrivalled wit and exacting analyses to effect social change on the biggest questions of his time.

Sara Joyce returns to the Gate Theatre following The Last Return (Druid Theatre), winner of a Scotsman Fringe First Award.

Her directing credits include The Beacon (Everyman, Cork); Two Pints (Belgrade Theatre); Content (15th Oak/Dublin Theatre Festival); Miracle on 34th Street (HOME Manchester); Boy Parts (Soho Theatre); Once Upon a Bridge (Druid Theatre); Armadillo (The Yard Theatre); and Dust (Soho Theatre, Trafalgar Studios and New York Theatre Workshop).

As Associate Director, her work includes Juno and the Paycock (Gielgud Theatre); King Charles III (UK tour and Sydney Theatre Company); and A Woman of No Importance (Vaudeville Theatre). She was Staff Director on The Welkin (National Theatre) and Resident Director at the Almeida Theatre.

Sara trained at Trinity College Dublin, École Jacques Lecoq and on the National Theatre Directors’ Course, and was a member of the Old Vic 12. As a writer, she is currently developing original projects for film and television.