26 July – 17 Aug
By George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Steve Rowe
Written in 1893, Mrs Warren’s Profession proved too much for Victorian sensibilities and didn’t debut on the London stage until 1902 at the dawn of the Edwardian age.
Kitty Warren, former prostitute, “spoilt and domineering, and decidedly vulgar”, is now a successful businesswoman – due to her owning several brothels across Europe. Her thoroughly modern and pragmatic daughter Vivie, having just graduated from university, seeks to get acquainted with Kitty for the first time in her young life. When Vivie realises what her mother does for a living, their relationship irrevocably changes and she must find her own way forward in a world run by men.
Shaw asserts that prostitution is not caused by moral failure but by economic necessity and, well over a century after its first performance, his play still resonates. How and why do we judge the choices of others – as well as the choices we make for ourselves?