OBSERVER: Mrs Warren’s Profession
Generational change and class structure intertwine in Mrs Warren’s Profession, a sharp societal critique of the limited options available to late-Victorian working-class women.
Real-life mother and daughter duo, Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter, portray Mrs. Kitty Warren and her daughter Vivie in George Bernard Shaw’s classic 1893 melodrama directed by Dominic Cooke.
Banned briefly by the chief censor, the Lord Chamberlain, at the time, its frank discussion of sex work shocked audiences.
Vivie embodies the emerging New Woman ideal—an educated, feminist, career-driven woman who has not only graduated from Cambridge University but has also earned a third in the Mathematical Tripos.
On a rare trip to England, Kitty visits her daughter.
“My mother has rather a trick of taking me by surprise … to see how I behave myself when she’s away,” Vivie states.
Kitty decides to reveal everything to her daughter, who is shocked to learn how her mother makes her money.
Despite excellent performances, the male characters come across as stock players: the lecherous, dastardly capitalist Sir George Crofts (Robert Glenister), the gormless, bumbling reverend (Kevin Doyle), and the feckless son (Reuben Joseph). It is the women who blaze.
Staunton and Carter shine in the third act, where Shaw develops the mother-daughter relationship through a nuanced debate, unprecedented for the time.
Chloe Lamford’s set opens with an English country garden overflowing with flowers, which contrasts superbly with the dour, unadorned office set in the final act.
A silent chorus of women in Victorian bloomers and camisoles appears at scene breaks, symbolising sex workers and reminding the audience that Kitty’s new fortune is based on their exploitation.
Running for nearly two hours, the drama keeps the audience engaged, largely thanks to excellent performances by both Staunton and Carter.
Opens in Palace Cinemas, October 25.
palacecinemas.com.au
Review by Kathryn Keeble