After a successful tour, Alexis Leighton and Helen Tierney are thrilled to perform MRS SHAW HERSELF at the Edinburgh Festival this year.
This Shaw Society acclaimed production is the first time the life and thoughts of Charlotte Payne-Townshend (aka Mrs George Bernard Shaw) have been presented on stage in her own words.
Charlotte Payne-Townshend was married to one of the most famous men in the world in what was commonly assumed to be sexless union, yet there is so much more to her story. Irish heiress, Fabian, suffrage supporter, LSE benefactor and champion of women’s rights, her legacy, until now, has been largely neglected.
This hour-long show brings her life and achievements into the spotlight and explores this very unconventional Irish love-story with live accompaniment on Celtic harp.
MRS SHAW HERSELF has been performed frequently over the last two years, notably at the Bloomsbury, Bury St Edmunds and Crouch End festivals, Conway Hall Library for London History Day, the LSE conference on Women, National Libraries week as well as the Shaws’ home village of Ayot St Lawrence.
The Shaw society sponsored a sell-out performance at the Tristan Bates theatre in London’s West End in 2018 and have been supportive throughout, recognising the piece’s importance in bringing Payne-Townshend’s achievements to public attention as well as highlighting her role in Shaw’s life.
