Premieres Unpleasant: How the Infamous Debut of Shelley's The Cenci Helped Make Shaw a Playwright

Percy Bysshe Shelley's drama The Cenci premiered in 1886, with a young Bernard Shaw handling press relations. This production helped to shape Shaw as a playwright, firing him up with a new realization of the potential for serious drama. At the same time, the perceived failure of the play guided Shaw away from certain false paths, helping to steer him toward the creation of his first three "unpleasant plays": Widowers Houses, The Philanderer, and Mrs. Warren's Profession. While composing these three plays, Shaw wrestled with Shelley, dealing with aesthetic issues as well as moral ones. Ultimately, Shaw was able to create a new type of drama in direct response to his early experience with The Cenci. Though Shaw himself recognized the influence The Cenci had on his work, the impact of Shelley's play has been underappreciated.