Audiences during this period were often shocked by the topics included in some plays and, if not shocked by the topics, questioned the topics in a political position, questioning the their ideals of governments or government figures. Three of what are considered some of the most influential playwrights of the period were Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), all of whom were prominent in the theater industry during their time at because of their new, shocking and what could be considered revolutionary thoughts and statements made by the characters in their interpretation