You Never Can Tell

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is revered as one of the great British dramatists, credited not only with memorable works, but the revival of the then-suffering English theatre. Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, left mostly to his own devices after his mother ran off to London to pursue a musical career. He educated himself for the most part, and eventually worked for a real estate agent. This experience founded in him a concern for social injustices, seeing poverty and general unfairness afoot, and would go on to address this in many of his works. In 1876, Shaw joined his mother in London where he would finally attain literary success. "You Never Can Tell" (1897) is a comedy of errors, mistaken identities, and connections reacquired that has delighted audiences for decades. The title comes from a sort of catch-phrase repeated throughout the play, hinting at the comedic mistaking of identities.