Bernard Shaw: The Director as Dramatist

In England in the 1890s few dramatists directed their own plays. Among them was Shaw, who viewed the director as vital to a theatrical production. Shaw’s work as director influenced his playwriting, from blocking and stage business to creating crowd scenes, from cutting and changing dialogue to devising striking, sometimes spectacular visual effects. This article also provides a partial account of rehearsals for the aborted production of You Never Can Tell in 1897, which Shaw directed.