On the morning they are meant to be wed, Edith Bridgenorth and Cecil Sykes are instead reading pamphlets about the dangers of marriage. Edith's father, the Bishop of Chelsea, is writing a book on the history of marriage. In his kitchen, the rest of the family assembles and attempts to hash out a better alternative to marriage as it stands. Among them are Boxer, who is proposing to Lesbia for the tenth and final time, Reginald and Leo, who have faked an assault and affair so they may get divorced, Leo's new love interest, who is having second thoughts about her, and Alderman Collins, who is catering the wedding as he has for all Edith's sisters. One part family drama, one part satirical comedy about the institution of marriage, Getting Married presents George Bernard Shaw's arguments for improved laws around marriage and divorce and includes an extensive preface containing his views on the future of marriage. George Bernard Shaw (died 1950) was an influential writer of the modernist period. Their work has endured across generations and continues to be read and studied worldwide. The dramatic works of earlier centuries formed the backbone of a rich theatrical tradition. Getting Married was written to be performed as well as read, and its theatrical power remains fully evident on the page, with characters, conflict, and language that leap to life.
