Shakes versus Shav
Encyclopedia
Shakes versus Shav is a puppet play written by George Bernard Shaw
. It was Shaw's penultimate dramatic work. The play runs for 20 minutes in performance.
The play was written by Shaw for the Lanchester Marionettes who were based in their own theatre in Foley House, Malvern, Worestershire, UK. The company's founders, Waldo and Muriel Lanchester, performed regularly in the Malvern Festival. Shaw, having seen their performances over the years, wrote Shakes Versus Shav for the company in 1949. Waldo Lanchester carved the two marionettes and Muriel costumed them. The Shaw puppet is now housed in the George Bernard Shaw Museum.
The play comprises a comic argument between the two playwrights, as a form of intellectual equivalent of Punch and Judy
.
In 2007 it was revived by Henry Bell
at the Orange Tree Theatre
with Dudley Hinton and John Paul Connelly playing the parts written for puppets. John Thaxter of The Stage
described it as 'history making'.
has been bettered by Scott
's novel Rob Roy
, and "proves" the point by staging a fight between the ghosts of the two Scots, which Rob Roy wins.
Shaw then asserts that Adam Lindsay Gordon
has outdone Shakespeare's verse, quoting the lines "The beetle booms adown the glooms/And bumps among the clumps" (in fact a garbled version of lines by James Whitcomb Riley
). Shakespeare laughs at this. He tells Shaw that he could never have written Hamlet
or King Lear
. Shaw replies that Shakespeare could not have written Heartbreak House
, and creates a pastiche of his own play with the characters posed in imitation of Millais's painting The North-West Passage.
Shakespeare defends the emotional power of his work. Shaw defends the practical value of his. Shaw ends by quoting Shakespeare's own words and bringing into being a small light to symbolise his own reputation. Shakespeare puts out the light and the play ends.
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. It was Shaw's penultimate dramatic work. The play runs for 20 minutes in performance.
The play was written by Shaw for the Lanchester Marionettes who were based in their own theatre in Foley House, Malvern, Worestershire, UK. The company's founders, Waldo and Muriel Lanchester, performed regularly in the Malvern Festival. Shaw, having seen their performances over the years, wrote Shakes Versus Shav for the company in 1949. Waldo Lanchester carved the two marionettes and Muriel costumed them. The Shaw puppet is now housed in the George Bernard Shaw Museum.
The play comprises a comic argument between the two playwrights, as a form of intellectual equivalent of Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
.
In 2007 it was revived by Henry Bell
Henry Bell
Henry Bell was a Scottish engineer who is famed for introducing the first successful passenger steamboat service in Europe.-Early career:...
at the Orange Tree Theatre
Orange Tree Theatre
The Orange Tree Theatre is a 172-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south west London, built specifically as a theatre in the round....
with Dudley Hinton and John Paul Connelly playing the parts written for puppets. John Thaxter of The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
described it as 'history making'.
Plot summary
Shakespeare challenges Shaw as an upstart, quoting lines from his own plays. Shaw claims that MacbethMacbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
has been bettered by Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's novel Rob Roy
Rob Roy (novel)
Rob Roy is a historical novel by Walter Scott. It is narrated by Frank Osbaldistone, the son of an English merchant who travels first to the North of England, and subsequently to the Scottish Highlands to collect a debt stolen from his father. On the way he encounters the larger-than-life title...
, and "proves" the point by staging a fight between the ghosts of the two Scots, which Rob Roy wins.
Shaw then asserts that Adam Lindsay Gordon
Adam Lindsay Gordon
Adam Lindsay Gordon was an Australian poet, jockey and politician.- Early life :Gordon was born at Fayal in the Azores, son of Captain Adam Durnford Gordon who had married his first cousin, Harriet Gordon, both of whom were descended from Adam of Gordon of the ballad...
has outdone Shakespeare's verse, quoting the lines "The beetle booms adown the glooms/And bumps among the clumps" (in fact a garbled version of lines by James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...
). Shakespeare laughs at this. He tells Shaw that he could never have written Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
or King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
. Shaw replies that Shakespeare could not have written Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety...
, and creates a pastiche of his own play with the characters posed in imitation of Millais's painting The North-West Passage.
Shakespeare defends the emotional power of his work. Shaw defends the practical value of his. Shaw ends by quoting Shakespeare's own words and bringing into being a small light to symbolise his own reputation. Shakespeare puts out the light and the play ends.