George Bernard Shaw provoke, although it was shown at the city's Royal Theatre in November 1907. Shaw later wrote that William Butler Yeats, who had requested the play, "got rather more than he bargained for... It was uncongenial to the whole spirit of the neo-Gaelic movement, which is bent on creating a new Ireland after its own ideal, whereas my play is a very uncompromising presentment of the real old Ireland." Nonetheless, Shaw and Yeats were close friends; Yeats and Lady Gregory tried unsuccessfully to persuade Shaw to take up the vacant co-directorship of the Abbey Theatre after J. M. Synge's death in
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