Pygmalion

George Bernard Shaw

Beschreibung

In George Bernard Shaw's iconic play "Pygmalion," the narrative explores themes of social class, identity, and transformation through the story of Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl with a strong Cockney accent, who is taken under the wing of phonetics professor Henry Higgins. Shaw's sharp wit and keen social commentary shine through in this comedic yet poignant exploration of language's power to shape one's societal standing. His use of realistic dialogue and vivid characterizations reflects the societal tensions of Edwardian England, making the play a seminal piece in both literature and theatrical history. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), a key figure in modernist literature, was deeply influenced by his own experiences with social inequality and his advocacy for women's rights. His background in music and journalism helped hone his talent for dialogue and character development. "Pygmalion" emerged during a period when class stratification was increasingly scrutinized, with Shaw aiming to challenge the conventions of societal norms and expectations through engaging characters and sharp repartee. This masterful play remains profoundly relevant today, inviting readers to reflect on the interplay between language and identity. Shaw's incisive critique of social constructs invites us to question our own biases, making "Pygmalion" not only a delightful read but also a thought-provoking exploration of human nature. It's a recommended addition to any literature enthusiast's collection.

Verfügbar seit: 11.10.2022.

Drucklänge: 200 Seiten.

Poesie & Theater

Weitere Bücher, die Sie mögen werden

My Father's Fable

Faith Omole

'Shall we have a real conversation? I am ready to stop pretending if you are.'
Peace didn't know what she needed when her father died. Then she found Bolu, her halfbrother from Nigeria, whom she didn't know existed. Filled with grief and a thousand questions, Peace ignores her mother's concerns, and invites Bolu to England. His arrival feels like something clicking into place.
But questions about this stranger's intentions and his mysterious past hang heavy in the air. Desperate to keep her fractured family – and herself – together, Peace must face the fact that the answers she desperately seeks might just lead to everything falling apart.
Faith Omole's play My Father's Fable is a gripping story of grief, belonging, and a family on the edge. It was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Rebekah Murrell.

Zum Buch

Building Bridges

Marie Dunlop

Building Bridges is set in 1965 in Anderston, Glasgow and examines the reaction of deserted husband, Billy Speirs, and his family to the return of his estranged wife, Bernie, whose mother has been taken seriously ill.  
It is a tale of bitterness, betrayal, and the absolute enduring strength of love when a community was sliced up to make way for a stretch of inner city motorway and the Glasgow Kingston Bridge. Just as the earmarking of Anderston as a Glasgow Comprehensive Development Area faced mixed reactions, the couple’s tentative and nervous steps back to one another faced opposition and difficulty and like the opinion of much of the community at that time, it was clear that things were never going to be the same again.  
The heart was getting ripped out of the place, just as it had been ripped out of Billy. Decisions have to be made, loyalties examined, and painful truths faced. Better days were coming, however, in the promise of new corporation housing, and it is against this backdrop of demolition and renewal that Building Bridges opens.

Zum Buch

Tender

Eleanor Tindall

'You might say that my life is perfect.'
Ivy has life sorted; she's got a flat, a boyfriend and she knows exactly where it's all headed. Except there is this thing that she tries not to think about. The thing she left in her childhood bedroom.
Ash is having the time of her life. Fresh from leaving a bad relationship, she's got no idea what's next. But there's something about her new flat. The wallpaper pulses and sometimes it sounds like a heartbeat.
Two women. A chance meeting. Giddy kisses they never should have shared. Eleanor Tindall's play Tender is the story of two people who find each other without even knowing they were looking. It was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Emily Aboud and produced by Broccoli Arts and Jessie Anand Productions. It was revived at the Bush Theatre in 2026.

Zum Buch

50 Masterpieces you have to read...

George Eliot, Charles Dickens,...

This book contains now several HTML tables of contents that will make reading a real pleasure!
Novels
Jerome, Jerome K.: "Three Men in a Boat"
Joyce, James: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"
Joyce, James: "Ulysses"
Kingsley, Charles: "The Water-Babies"
Kipling, Rudyard: "Kim"
La Fayette, Madame de: "The Princess of Clèves"
Laclos, Pierre Choderlos de: "Dangerous Liaisons"
Lawrence, D. H.: "Sons and Lovers"
Lawrence, D. H.: "The Rainbow"
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan: "In a Glass Darkly"
Lewis, Matthew Gregory: "The Monk"
Lewis, Sinclair: "Main Street"
London, Jack: "The Call of the Wild"
Lovecraft, H. P.: "At the Mountains of Madness"
Mann, Thomas: "Royal Highness"
Maugham, W. Somerset: "Of Human Bondage"
Maupassant, Guy de: "Bel-Ami"
Melville, Herman: "Moby-Dick"
Poe, Edgar Allan: "The Fall of the House of Usher"
Proust, Marcel: "Swann's Way"
Radcliffe, Ann: "The Mysteries of Udolpho"
Richardson, Samuel: "Clarissa"
Sand, George: "The Devil's Pool"
Scott, Walter: "Ivanhoe"
Shelley, Mary: "Frankenstein"
Sienkiewicz, Henryk: "Quo Vadis"
Sinclair, May: "Life and Death of Harriett Frean"
Sinclair, Upton: "The Jungle"
Stendhal: "The Red and the Black"
Stendhal: "The Chartreuse of Parma"
Sterne, Laurence: "Tristram Shandy"
Stevenson, Robert Louis: "Treasure Island"
Stoker, Bram: "Dracula"
Stowe, Harriet Beecher: "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Swift, Jonathan: "Gulliver's Travels"
Tagore, Rabindranath: "The Home and the World"
Thackeray, William Makepeace: "Vanity Fair"
Tolstoy, Leo: "War and Peace"
Tolstoy, Leo: "Anna Karenina"
Troloppe, Anthony: "The Way We Live Now"
Turgenev, Ivan: "Fathers and Sons"
Twain, Mark: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
Verne, Jules: "Journey to the Interior of the Earth"
Wallace, Lew: "Ben-Hur"
Wells, H. G.: "The Time Machine"
West, Rebecca: "The Return of the Soldier"
Wharton, Edith: "The Age of Innocence"
Wilde, Oscar: "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
Xueqin, Cao: "The Dream of the Red Chamber"
Zola, Émile: "Germinal"

Zum Buch

One-Act Play Collection 002

Various

This collection of eight one-act dramas features plays by Eugene O'Neill, George Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy, Susan Glaspell, William Dean Howells and John Millington Synge.  It also includes a dramatic reading of a short story by Frank Richard Stockton.  (Summary by Elizabeth Klett) Before Breakfast read by: Elizabeth Klett, Pat Redstone The Buller-Podington Compact read by: Algy Pug, Lars Rolander, David Lawrence, mb, Elizabeth Klett, Levi Throckmorton The Dark Lady of the Sonnets read by: Max Korlinge, Bob Gonzalez, Elizabeth Klett, Arielle Lipshaw, mb The First and the Last read by: Algy Pug, mb, Diana Majlinger, Elizabeth Klett How He Lied to Her Husband read by: Diana Majlinger, Bob Gonzalez, mb, Arielle Lipshaw The Outside read by: John Steigerwald, mb, Bart de Leeuw, Elizabeth Klett, Arielle Lipshaw, David Lawrence The Parlor-Car read by: Barry Eads, Betsie Bush Riders to the Sea read by: Poilin Hynes, Algy Pug, Arielle Lipshaw, Elizabeth Klett, Barty Begley, Diana Majlinger, David Lawrence, Kalynda

Zum Buch

Multiple Casualty Incident

Sami Ibrahim

Here, in a London training centre, people prepare to help strangers on another side of the world. There, a city is burning.
Here, Sarah gets a meal deal. There, people are in danger. Here, Khaled watches a training video. There, there are men with guns. Here, Sarah and Khaled flirt with each other. There, an aid worker looks after a refugee.
Suddenly – here becomes there.
In Sami Ibrahim's play Multiple Casualty Incident, roleplay, desire and compassion intertwine, revealing the limits of help, the beginnings of harm and the complexities of humanitarian work. It was first performed at The Yard Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Jaz Woodcock-Stewart.

Zum Buch