2020 Reprint of the 1924 Edition. Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw about 15th-century French military figure Joan of Arc. Premiering in 1923, three years after her canonization by the Roman Catholic Church, the play reflects Shaw's belief that the people involved in Joan's trial acted according to what they thought was right. One of Shaw's most unusual and enduringly popular plays. With Saint Joan (1923) Shaw reached the height of his fame and Joan is one of his finest creations; forceful, vital, and rebelling against the values that surround her. The play distills Shaw's views on the subjects of politics, religion and creative evolution.