Reviews for The Philanderer

The average rating for The Philanderer based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-11-21 00:00:00 Lee Bentley This second play by Shaw (written in 1883 but not performed until 1902, when censorship permitted) is a daring effort for its time. Indeed, it might even by considered to have contemporary relevance, for it deals'among other matters'with sexual politics and animal testing (or, as the Victorians would have put it, Ibsenism and vivisection.) Unfortunately, though, it seems more like a curiosity than successful social criticism. Shaw had not yet found his voice, and the dramatic structure of the play is not sound enough, its witticisms not sharp enough, to carry Shaw's ambitious messages. The plot is so complicated that I am already starting to forget it. I do remember, though, that it revolves around Leonard Charteris (the "philanderer" of the title) who wishes to break off with his long time lover Julia and begin a dalliance'and perhaps a courtship'with his new love Grace. What might otherwise be a conventional comedy is complicated by the fact that Charteris and most of the other characters are members of the "Ibsen Club" (named for the author of A Doll's House), a forward-looking organization which challenges conventional sexual roles and refuses to admit as members men who are too "manly" or women who are too "womanly." How then, must a proper devotee of "Ibsenism" meet the challenge of an explosive emotional triangle? The question is indeed interesting. More interesting, I think, than the play. Still, anyone willing to explore the workings of Shaw's first-rate and unconventional mind will find much here to engage them.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-07-31 00:00:00 Calvin Woolfolk I really enjoy Shaw's plays - readable, clever and interesting.