Bernard Shaw
Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was in the early Twentieth Century one of the most famous people in the world. Born and raised in Dublin, he lived his entire adult life from the age of 20 in Britain. He was the first person to be awarded both the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1925 after writing St Joan, his play about Joan of Arc and for which the Society will be celebrating the centenary this summer) and an Oscar (which he received in 1938 for Best Original Screenplay for adapting his comedy Pygmalion). He and his wife Charlotte were crucial to the development of a string of institutions which are still important today: the Fabian Society, the London School of Economics, and RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts). He was a socialist, vegetarian and feminist long before those causes were fashionable. Remembered chiefly for his 60 groundbreaking plays, which tackle major political and social topics, including class, poverty and warfare, he remains today a public intellectual with a global reputation.​
The Shaw Society
The Shaw Society was set up in Shaw’s lifetime on his 85th birthday, 26 July 1941. He endorsed it in his usual irascible style, replying ‘go ahead but don’t bother me about it’ - at the same time taking a great interest in its activities. He thought the Society would last no more than four years. It has been the great pleasure of the members to see him wrong. Now in its 74th year, the Shaw Society today provides opportunities to study and enjoy the works of George Bernard Shaw or ‘GBS’ as he was widely known, and his contemporaries through public performances, readings, films, talks, articles in the press and the Society’s bi-annual journal The Shavian.
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In September 2022, the Shaw Society registered as a charity. It endeavours to keep Shaw’s work alive and on stage; bring his work to wider audiences; raise money to support young actors and develop academic research related to Shaw. We run a wide programme of activities that are open to all members, including a monthly play-reading workshop featuring plays by Shaw and his contemporaries, led by a drama tutor and followed by a convivial light supper. The Society also organises regular literary walks, including the annual ‘Shaw Crawl’, around the places Shaw loved in London, usually pausing for refreshments at a very un-Shavian pub or bar (Shaw himself being tee-total), as well as screenings of plays and films, theatre visits around the UK, talks, presentations and lectures. ​​
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