Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Ramsden’s
Whitefield house. Suburban home in Richmond, near London, used for an outdoor setting in act 2, that establishes the importance of the automobile for subsequent action and introduces the pragmatic outlook of the modern technological man, Henry Straker.
*Sierra Nevada. Spanish mountain range in which Mendoza’s comic opera bandits hide out in act 3. It evokes the atmosphere of Spain’s cultural Golden Age and inspires the “Don Juan in Hell” dream sequence, embodying Tanner’s vision of a philosophical Don Juan.
Hell. Act 3 is set either in an empty void in Hell or on Hell’s border. This austere setting presents Shaw’s new version of Hell, a forum for elegant philosophical debate by bodiless spirits outside of time.
*Granada. Province in southern Spain, where act 4 is set in the garden of a villa within sight of the famous Alhambra ruins of early Moorish occupation. Granada’s exotic ambience seems to inspire the emotional power of scenes that reveal the truth about Violet’s secret marriage and present the dramatic climax of Ann’s protracted pursuit of Tanner. The aura of Moorish Spain makes the passionate conflict of Ann and Tanner’s final scene, counterpointed by Shavian comedy, more credible.