Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre (New York) in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety failed to learn their proper business of political navigation". (p. 164)
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On the eve of World War I, Ellie Dunn, her father, and her fiancé are invited to one of Hesione Hushabye’s infamous dinner parties. Unfortunately, her fiancé is a scoundrel, her father’s a bumbling prig, and she’s actually in love with Hector, Hesione’s husband. This bold mix of farce and tragedy lampoons British society as it blithely sinks towards disaster.
The house could arguably be a metaphorical reference to a ship which must be guided capably, not only by its crew, but also its passengers. Each character in the house represents some facet of British society, Mangan being the nouveau riche capitalist, Hesione the flighty Bohemian, Ellie a struggling member of the lower class and so on.
One of Shaw's most important and evident themes is reality versus appearances. By the end of the play, each character is revealed to be nothing like who they appeared to be in the beginning. Mangan, who was reported to be "a Napoleon of industry" is revealed in the third act to be virtually penniless and incapable of running his own businesses. It is in fact Mazzini who runs Mangan's businesses although he at first appears mild and incompetent.
Mazzini's belief in fate ruling his life reinforces his feeble ability to control his situation and according to the captain dooms the ship to destruction unless competent navigation can be learned:
Captain Shotover: "Navigation. Learn it and live; or leave it and be damned." (p. 141)
Heartbreak House is not often performed due to its complex structure, however it is argued that the genius of the play cannot be fully appreciated without seeing it in performance. Its subject-matter is the ignorance and indifference exhibited by the upper and upper-middle classes to the First World War and its consequences. The self-indulgence and lack of understanding of the high-class characters are central issues in British society at the time that the play illuminates.
The play is being performed at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (www.shawfest.com) in summer 2011.
It is available on VHS tape based on the 1985 TV version directed by Anthony Page, with Rex Harrison as Shotover, Amy Irving as Ellie, and Rosemary Harris as Hesione. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089262/ Also available on DVD based on the 1977 version directed by Cedric Messina, with John Gielgud as Shotover, Lesley-Anne Down as Ellie, and Siân Phillips as Hesione. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076132/
Heartbreak House at the Internet Broadway Database
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