Subtitled ‘‘A Comedy and a Philosophy,’’ George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman is a comedy of ideas: its characters discuss ideas such as capitalism, social reform, male and female roles in courtship, and other existential topics in long speeches that resemble arias in an opera.
George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara has been called the most controversial of Shaw’s works. The play was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1905, and early reviews were decidedly mixed. Shaw’s seeming criticism of Christianity caused some to accuse him of blasphemy, while others defended what they saw as Shaw’s realistic presentation of religion.