L2L Major Barbara

George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara

This week, Leigh Rich and P. T. examine George Bernard Shaw’s 1905 play, Major Barbara, about the two sides of the Undershaft family: the estranged father and munitions maker and the eldest daughter and Salvation Army major. Who has the better plan for eradicating poverty? Who stands tall on the moral high ground? The “rebel with a cause” Shaw was a tad tired of being the toast of London — so he shook up the upper classes and those of lesser means with a preface and play (and his usual wit) about what –ism should prevail in society.