Mrs Shaw Herself

Book your tickets for ‘Mrs Shaw Herself’

Saturday, July 26, 3-4pm (Doors open at 2:45pm)

Ayot St Lawrence Church, AL6 9BZ (Free Venue Parking)

Timed to combine with the production of "Arms and the Man" at nearby Shaw's Corner - National Trust, this production of ‘Mrs Shaw Herself’, combines spoken word with harp and organ music. The play is devised and performed by Alexis Leighton Ward and Helen Tierney. It is based on extensive research into the background and life of Charlotte Shaw (né Payne-Townsend). Charlotte was a match for her Nobel prize-winning husband and was a renowned feminist, Fabian, translator and philanthropist.

The text of “Mrs Shaw Herself” is almost entirely drawn from her letters and diaries and those of, amongst others, Shaw, Beatrice Webb and T.E. Lawrence. Charlotte Payne-Townshend (1857-1943) was an Irish heiress and in her early 40s when she married the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw. Both had previously taken a firm stance against marriage: Shaw was a notorious philanderer and she herself was terrified of physical intimacy and child-bearing yet their unconventional marriage survived until her death. Although Shaw’s views on their relationship remained ambiguous, there is no doubt that in many ways the marriage was a success: not least, her fortune gave Shaw domestic comfort and stability which enabled him to write so prolifically. MRS SHAW HERSELF aims to bring Charlotte Shaw out from behind her husband’s shadow, and explore her thoughts, ideas and considerable legacy.

We will be serving tea and a special birthday cake to celebrate Shaw's birthday this same weekend.

To book a ticket for “Mrs Shaw Herself” use the link below or use the QR Code on the poster:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mrs-shaw-herself-tickets-1295627218889