Reading list · 33 plays

Shaw's Most Stagable Plays

Bernard Shaw wrote more producible plays than any other dramatist of his generation, and the question of which to mount in a given season is a working programmer's perennial puzzle. The list below sorts the public-domain Shaw in our archive by sheer producibility.

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  1. Misalliance

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Written by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950), Misalliance stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  2. The Dark Lady of the Sonnets

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  3. Mrs. Warren's Profession

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Mrs. Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  4. You Never Can Tell

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    You Never Can Tell (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  5. Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Comedy

    Written by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950), Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  6. Caesar and Cleopatra

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Written by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950), Caesar and Cleopatra stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  7. Captain Brassbound's Conversion

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Captain Brassbound's Conversion by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  8. O'Flaherty V.C.: A Recruiting Pamphlet

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's O'Flaherty V.C.: A Recruiting Pamphlet (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  9. Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · One-Act Play

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  10. The Inca of Perusalem: An Almost Historical Comedietta

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Comedy

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, The Inca of Perusalem: An Almost Historical Comedietta by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold…

  11. Augustus Does His Bit: A True-to-Life Farce

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Farce

    Augustus Does His Bit: A True-to-Life Farce (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  12. Great Catherine (Whom Glory Still Adores)

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Great Catherine (Whom Glory Still Adores) (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  13. Heartbreak House

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Heartbreak House (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  14. How He Lied to Her Husband

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    How He Lied to Her Husband (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  15. John Bull's Other Island

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    John Bull's Other Island (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  16. Arms and the Man

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  17. The Devil's Disciple

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    The Devil's Disciple (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  18. Major Barbara

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Major Barbara (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  19. Pygmalion

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Written by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950), Pygmalion stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  20. Overruled

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Overruled (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  21. Androcles and the Lion

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's Androcles and the Lion (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  22. Candida

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's Candida (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  23. The Man of Destiny

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's The Man of Destiny (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  24. The Doctor's Dilemma

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    The Doctor's Dilemma (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  25. The Philanderer

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's The Philanderer (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  26. Getting Married

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's Getting Married (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  27. Fanny's First Play

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's Fanny's First Play (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  28. The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  29. Press Cuttings

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Bernard Shaw's Press Cuttings (first published 1950) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  30. Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    Written by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950), Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  31. The Miraculous Revenge

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    The Miraculous Revenge (first published 1950) is a stage play by Bernard Shaw, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  32. The Admirable Bashville; Or, Constancy Unrewarded Being the Novel of Cashel Byron's Profession Done into a Stage Play in Three Acts and in Blank Verse, with a Note on Modern Prize Fighting

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, The Admirable Bashville; Or, Constancy Unrewarded Being the Novel of Cashel Byron's Profession Done into a Stage Play in Three Acts and in Blank Verse, with a Note on Modern Prize…

  33. Saint Joan

    by Bernard Shaw · 1950 · Drama

    A defining work of Realism & Naturalism, Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw (first published 1950) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

How this list was put together

The selections above were drawn from the full Stage Pages archive of 520 public-domain stage plays. Where ranking is implied by the order, that ranking is editorial — defensible, but not unanimous. Where the list is alphabetical or chronological, we say so.

If you have a candidate we missed, the whole library is one click away from the main scripts index; we add titles to lists as the catalogue grows.