6. ‘Extravagant’

‘Extravagant’ discusses how George Bernard Shaw’s plays continue to experiment with dramatic structure and style as he recovers his optimism in social progress amid the devastating effects of the Great War. As he pursued ‘extravagant’ flexibility in stage convention, Shaw was also stepping beyond the confines of his Fabian Socialism. The Apple Cart (1928), On the Rocks (1933), and Geneva (1936) were written at a time when Shaw seriously pondered the efficacy of enlightened authoritarian government in accelerating advancement of the species.