George Bernard Shaw at Whitehall Court. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Shaw secured a firm reputation as a playwright. In 1904 J. E. Vedrenne and Harley Granville-Barker established a company at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, Chelsea to present modern drama. Over the next five years they staged fourteen of Shaw's plays. The first, "John Bull's Other Island", a comedy about an Englishman in Ireland, attracted leading politicians and was seen by Edward VII, who laughed so much that he broke his chair. The play was withheld from Dublin's Abbey Theatre, for fear of the affront it might
Shaw Festival by "contemporary Shavians" such as Tony Kushner and Caryl Churchill. She produced many plays written and directed by women. In the summer of 2015, it was announced that Tim Carroll would take over as Artistic Director. He announced his inaugural 2017 season in August 2016. Under its current mandate, the Shaw Festival celebrates the life and spirit of Bernard Shaw by creating theatre that is as entertaining and provocative as Shaw himself. Dates listed are when the theatre's association with the Shaw Festival began; The Court House and Royal George theatres predate the festival. Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is