A ONE-OFF performance of one of George Bernard Shaw’s classic plays will be staged in June to mark the playwright’s birthday.
SHAW2020'S production of Village Wooing will run at the Irish Cultural Centre (ICC) in Hammersmith on July 27, just one day after what would have been Shaw’s 169th birthday.
Born in Dublin on July 26, 1856, Shaw remains one of Ireland’s most celebrated literary figures.
The ICC organisers say their commemorative event is set to “honour his enduring legacy with a witty, incisive piece that showcases the playwright’s hallmark charm, intellect, and social critique”.
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw pictured at his home in Hertfordshire, shortly before his 90th birthday in July 1946. (Pic: Getty)Directed by Jonas Cemm, and former trustee of The Shaw Society, the production of Shaw's anti-romance play stars Joe Sargent as ‘A’, a reserved guidebook writer, and Maryann O’Brien as ‘Z’, a quick-witted country shopgirl determined to draw him out of his shell.
“We are so looking forward to hosting the production of Village Wooing here at the ICC, as we know that SHAW2020 produce Bernard Shaw productions of the very best,” Rosalind Scanlon, Cultural Director of the Irish Cultural Centre, said this week.
Following the show, Dublin-born actor Billy Boyle, who has starred in west end musicals such as Hello, Dolly!, Maggie May, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, will host a Q&A with the director and cast.
Village Wooing runs at the Irish Cultural Centre at 2.30pm on July 27.
The production then transfers to nearby Theatre at the Tabard in Chiswick for a three-week run from August 6 – 23, where it will be part of a double bill, titled SHAW vs CHEKHOV: Village Wooing & The Proposal.
