The Very Little Theate concluded its 1946-47 Season with a top-notch production of Candida, a comedy by George Bernard Shaw. This production involved many long-time VLT supporters, such as Horace Robinson and Marvin Krenk.
Candida is the name of the title character of the play. She is the wife of a first-rate clergyman, the Reverend James Mavor Morell. Morell is a Christian Socialist, popular in the Church of England, but Candida is responsible for much of his success. Candida returns home briefly from a trip to London with Eugene Marchbanks, a young poet who wants to rescue her from what he presumes to be her dull family life. Marchbanks is in love with Candida and believes she deserves something more than just complacency from her husband. Ultimately, Candida must choose between the two gentlemen...
The play questions Victorian notions of love and marriage, asking what a woman really wants her husband to provide her with. Additionally, because the clergyman is a Fabian Socialist, as was Shaw, various political issues of the time are also part of the plot. |
