Mrs. Warren's Profession

Middle-aged Mrs. Warren is a madam proprietress of a string of successful brothels. Her daughter Vivie is a modern young woman but not so modern that shes not shocked to discover the source of her mothers wealth. The clash of these two strong-willed but culturally constrained Victorian women is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of George Bernard Shaws greatest plays a withering critique of male domination sexual hypocrisy and societal convention. Initially banned after its 1893 publication with its startling frankness Mrs. Warrens Profession remains a powerful work of progressive theater. Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925 and an Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay in 1938 the only person to achieve both honors. Among his many renowned plays are Arms and the Man (1894) Candida (1894) Man and Superman (1903) Major Barbara (1905) and Pygmalion (1913).