Word: shaw
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...Shaw's personae are the languishing leisure class engaged in social masquerade: "How are we to have any self-respect," complains the fraudulent investor, "if don't keep it up that we're better than we really are?" And to top it off, there is mad Captain Shotover endlessly traversing the stage in search of the seventh degree of concentration, leaving behind him a wake of nonsensical criticism, and them harrumphing back across the stage with still more. Yes, Heartbreak House is a madhouse--but it is England as well...
...this point Shaw is explicit. In his preface to the play, he calls Heartbreak House "cultured, leisured Europe before the war." Elsewhere he dodges the issue of what it all means: "How should I know? I am only the author." Shaw subtitled the play "A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes" as homage to Anton Chekhov, whose Three Sisters appeared earlier this semester at the Loeb. The imprint of Chekhov's style is apparent in Shaw's reliance on dialogue, rather than physical action or plot development, to express characterization and the atmosphere of pre-war England...
With the aid of an outstanding cast, director Daniel Sherman and producer Rick Livingston have rendered admirably Shaw's light-hearted pandemonium and his apocalyptic vision of a new European class consciousness. Although the characters in Heartbreak House loosely represent symbolic roles in English society, they consistently refuse to be stereotyped. As the play progresses, each character develops, gradually revealing more and more depth. In the end, Shaw's portraits remain ambiguous and a challenge to decipher, leaving nuances of their portrayal up to the discretion of the director and actors...
...absence of such clear distinctions in other aspects of Heartbreak House suggests why the play has been subjected to numerous interpretations since its first performance in 1920. Shaw's final act is especially ambiguous and leaves the audience pondering whether the playwright entertained hopes for the establishment of a new social order or whether, like Chekhov, he foresaw only a grim continuation of existing institutions...
...TURNING Heartbreak House's humor into near-farce, however, the Dunster House production diverts the audience's attention from Shaw's serious political considerations. Nuances are lost, and with them goes much of what distinguishes Heartbreak House as fine drama. Nevertheless, this production remains worthwhile and enjoyable for its humor, characterization and evocation of a social climate not too far removed from...