An Irish Comedy by George Bernard Shaw.
The comedy You Never Can Tell was George Bernard Shaw’s 1896 answer to The Importance of Being Earnest. As the play opens, Mrs. Clandon and her children, Dolly, Phillip and Gloria, have just returned to England 18 years after their departure. The children have no idea who their father is and, through a comedy of errors, end up inviting him to a family lunch. At the same time, a dentist named Valentine has fallen in love with the eldest daughter, Gloria, who considers herself a modern woman and claims to have no interest in love or marriage. Will Valentine succeed in changing her mind? Throughout the play, the wise and friendly waiter, Walter (most commonly referred to by the characters as “William,” because Dolly thinks he resembles Shakespeare), dispenses his wisdom with the titular phrase “You Never Can Tell.” The New York Dramatic Mirror thought the comedy “So full of whimsical turns . . . It is brainy champagne.” We hope you will think so too!
