View source for Mrs. Warren's Profession

{{short description|Play by George Bernard Shaw}}
{{for|the 1960 German film adaptation|Mrs. Warren's Profession (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox play
| name       =Mrs. Warren's Profession
| image      =Mrs Warrens Profession New York 1918.jpg
|image_size = 
| caption    = Photographs from the 1918 production of ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'', directed by and starring Mary Shaw (pictured in the two lower frames).
| writer     = [[George Bernard Shaw]]
| genre      = [[Problem play]]
| setting    =  A cottage at Haslemere, Surrey
| subject  = The madam of a string of brothels justifies her career to her daughter
| premiere   = Stage Society, 5 January 1902 (private) 
| place      = New Lyric Club
| orig_lang  = English
}}
{{Wikisource|Mrs Warren's Profession}}
'''''Mrs. Warren's Profession''''' is a [[Play (theatre)|play]] written by [[George Bernard Shaw]] in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902. It is one of the three plays Shaw published as ''Plays Unpleasant'' in 1898, alongside ''[[The Philanderer]]'' and ''[[Widowers' Houses]]''. The play is about a former [[prostitute]], now a madam ([[brothel]] proprietor), who attempts to come to terms with her disapproving daughter. It is a [[problem play]], offering social commentary to illustrate the idea that the act of prostitution was not caused by moral failure but by economic necessity. Elements of the play were borrowed from Shaw's 1882 novel ''[[Cashel Byron's Profession]]'', about a man who becomes a boxer due to limited employment opportunities.

==Summary==

The story centres on the relationship between Mrs Kitty Warren and her daughter, Vivie. Mrs. Warren, a former prostitute and current [[brothel]] owner, is described as "on the whole, a genial and fairly presentable old [[wikt:blackguard|blackguard]] of a woman." Vivie, an intelligent and pragmatic young woman who has just graduated from university, has come home to get acquainted with her mother for the first time in her life.<ref>{{Cite web
  | last = Shaw
  | first = George Bernard
  | title = Mrs. Warren's Profession
  | url = http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/gbshaw/Warren-Profession.pdf
  | access-date = 2011-02-07
  | year = 1902
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101122110542/http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/gbshaw/Warren-Profession.pdf
  | archive-date = 2010-11-22
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref> The play focuses on how their relationship changes when Vivie learns what her mother does for a living. It explains why Mrs. Warren became a prostitute, condemns the hypocrisies relating to prostitution, and criticises the limited employment opportunities available for women in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] Britain.

==Plot==

Vivie Warren, a thoroughly modern young woman, has just graduated from the [[University of Cambridge]] with honours in Mathematics (equal Third [[Wrangler (University of Cambridge)|Wrangler]]), and is available for suitors. Her mother, Mrs. Warren (her name changed to hide her identity and give the impression that she is married), arranges for her to meet her friend Mr. Praed, a middle-aged, handsome architect, at the home where Vivie is staying. Mrs. Warren arrives with her business partner, Sir George Crofts, who is attracted to Vivie despite their 25-year age difference. Vivie is romantically involved with the youthful Frank Gardner, who sees her as his meal ticket. His father, the (married) Reverend Samuel Gardner, has a history with Vivie's mother. As we discover later, he may be Vivie's out-of-wedlock father, which would make Vivie and Frank half-siblings. Mrs. Warren successfully justifies to her daughter how she chose her particular profession in order to support her daughter and give her the opportunities she never had. She saved enough money to buy into the business with her sister, and she now owns (with Sir George) a chain of brothels across Europe. Vivie is, at first, horrified by the revelation, but then lauds her mother as a champion. However, the reconciliation ends when Vivie finds out that her mother continues to run the business even though she no longer needs to. Vivie takes an office job in the city and dumps Frank, vowing she will never marry. She disowns her mother, and Mrs. Warren is left heartbroken, having looked forward to growing old with her daughter.

==Origins==
Shaw said he wrote the play "to draw attention to the truth that prostitution is caused, not by female depravity and male licentiousness, but simply by underpaying, undervaluing and overworking women so shamefully that the poorest of them are forced to resort to prostitution to keep body and soul together."<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge companion to Victorian and Edwardian theatre |first=Kerry |last=Powell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICi7QY_VSA8C&pg=PA229 |page=229 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-79536-4}}</ref> Shaw "addresses a social problem, organized prostitution, and dramatizes it through the character Vivie Warren."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Powell |first=Kerry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICi7QY_VSA8C&q=shaw&pg=PA229 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Victorian and Edwardian Theatre |date=2004-02-19 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-79536-4 |language=en}}</ref>

He explained the source of the play in a letter to the ''[[Daily Chronicle (United Kingdom)|Daily Chronicle]]'' on 28 April 1898:

<blockquote>Miss [[Janet Achurch]] [an actress and friend of Shaw’s] mentioned to me a novel by some [[French people|French]] writer [''Yvette'' by [[Guy de Maupassant]]] as having a dramatisable story in it. It being hopeless to get me to read anything, she told me the story... In the following autumn I was the guest of a lady ([[Beatrice Webb]]) of very distinguished ability—one whose knowledge of English social types is as remarkable as her command of industrial and political questions. She suggested that I should put on the stage a real modern lady of the governing class—not the sort of thing that theatrical and critical authorities imagine such a lady to be. I did so; and the result was Miss Vivie Warren ... Mrs. Warren herself was my version of the heroine of the romance narrated by Miss Achurch. The tremendously effective scene—which a baby could write if its sight were normal—in which she justifies herself, is only a paraphrase of a scene in a novel of my own, ''[[Cashel Byron's Profession]]'' (hence the title, ''Mrs Warren's Profession''), in which a [[prize-fighter]] shows how he was driven into the ring exactly as Mrs. Warren was driven on the streets.<ref>{{cite web| title =Mrs. Warren's Profession Study Guide| pages =25–26| publisher =Guthrie Theater| year =2003| url =http://www.guthrietheater.org/sites/default/files/mrswarren.pdf| access-date =2008-08-14| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071031110511/http://www.guthrietheater.org/sites/default/files/mrswarren.pdf| archive-date =2007-10-31}}</ref></blockquote>

==Performance history==
[[File:Fanny Brough as Mrs. Warren 1902.jpg|right|thumb|Fanny Brough as Mrs. Warren in the 1902 London production. Part of a series of photographs of the production taken by [[Frederick H. Evans]]. According to a note in Cornell University Library's archive, playwright George Bernard Shaw referred to Evans as "the most artistic of photographers."]]
The play was originally banned by the [[Lord Chamberlain]] ([[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]]'s official theatre [[Censorship|censor]]) because of its frank discussion of [[prostitution]], but was finally performed on Sunday, 5 January 1902, at [[London]]'s New Lyric Club with the distinguished actor-manager [[Harley Granville-Barker]] as Frank, [[Fanny Brough]] as Mrs. Warren, George Goodhart as Sir George Crofts, Julius Knight as Praed, Madge McIntosh as Vivie and [[Cosmo Gordon-Lennox|Cosmo Stuart]] as the Rev. Samuel Gardner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3qaAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Mrs.+Warren's+Profession%22+1902+cast|title=Mrs. Warren's Profession: A Play in Four Acts|first=Bernard|last=Shaw|date=8 April 2018|publisher=A. Constable|access-date=8 April 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> Members-only clubs had been a device to avoid the eye of authority, but actors often also used the opportunity to invite their fellow-artists to a private showing of a play, usually on Sundays, when theatres were closed to the public. The first public performance in London took place in 1925.

A 1905 performance in [[New York City|New York]], this time on a public stage, was interrupted by the [[NYPD|police]], who arrested the cast and crew for violating New York City's version of the [[Comstock laws]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Arnold Daley Held for his Shaw Play |work=The New York Times |date=November 15, 1905 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/96493562/136D710970162E53BFE |access-date=2012-05-21}}</ref>  It was later held not to be in violation of the law,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Court Approves Bernard Shaw's Play |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 7, 1906 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/96637422/136D710970162E53BFE |access-date=2012-05-21}}</ref> and has been revived on Broadway five times since. In December 1918 the play was produced in Perth, Australia by the actor manager Alan Wilkie and featured a friend and protégé of Shaw, Frediswyde Hunter-Watts, as Vivie Warren.

The play has been twice revived by the National Theatre, first in 1970–71 at the Old Vic, directed by Ronald Eyre, with Coral Browne and Sarah Badel, and more recently at the Lyttelton Theatre in 1985–86, directed by Anthony Page, with Joan Plowright and Jessica Turner as Mrs Warren and Vivie.

The 1976 Broadway revival featured [[Ruth Gordon]] as Kitty, [[Lynn Redgrave]] as Vivie, [[Philip Bosco]] as Sir George Crofts and [[Edward Herrmann]] as Frank Gardner.   [[Tony Awards]] nominations went to Redgrave for "Best Actress in a Play" and Herrmann for "Best Featured Actor in a Play". Herrmann won a Tony.

The [[Shaw Festival]] at [[Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario]] has mounted the play five times since the Festival's inception in 1962: 1976, 1990, 1997, 2008, and 2016

In 2006, it was revived off-broadway by [[Irish Repertory Theatre|The Irish Repertory Theatre]], with [[Dana Ivey]] as Mrs. Warren, Laura Odeh as Vivie Warren, and [[David Staller]] as Mr. Praed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://irishrep.org/show/2005-2006-season/mrs-warrens-profession/|title=Mrs. Warren's Profession - Irish Repertory Theatre|website=irishrep.org|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>

The play was revived in 2010 in three separate venues:

* London's West End, at the [[Comedy Theatre]] with [[Felicity Kendal]] in the title role
* [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], by the [[Shakespeare Theatre Company]] at [[Sidney Harman Hall]], with [[Elizabeth Ashley]] in the title role
* [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[American Airlines Theatre]] under the auspices of the [[Roundabout Theatre Company]], with [[Cherry Jones]] as Kitty Warren and [[Sally Hawkins]] as Vivie

It was performed by the [[Sydney Theatre Company]] in 2012, and was so popular that the season was extended.

In 2016 the play was performed at the Center Theatre in Seattle.

In 2018, Eleanor Bishop's adaptation of the play was performed at the [[ASB Waterfront Theatre]] in Auckland, New Zealand by the Auckland Theatre Company.

In 2021, the play ran off-Broadway at Theatre Row, produced by Gingold Theatrical Group.

In 2022, the play was performed at the Chichester Festival Theatre with [[Caroline Quentin]] as Mrs Warren and her real life daughter, Rose Quentin, as Vivie. The play ran from November 30 to December 3, before going on tour in 2023 to venues including the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/whats-on/mrs-warrens-profession|title=Mrs Warren's Profession at Guildford}}</ref> and the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.everymantheatre.org.uk/shows/mrs-warren-s-profession/|title=Mrs Warren's Profession at Cheltenham}}</ref>

In 2024 SHAW2020 Theatre Company toured their production of ''Mrs Warren's Profession''. The tour visited the playwrights home [[Shaw's Corner]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckvgn89gyxko | title=Fresh version of 1983 play to be staged at Shaw's Corner | date=7 July 2024 }}</ref>

In 2025, the [[Garrick Theatre]] in London staged a production starring [[Imelda Staunton]] as Mrs. Warren and her real-life daughter [[Bessie Carter]] as Vivie.<ref>https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/mrs-warrens-profession-imelda-staunton-bessie-carter-b2756536.html</ref>

==Sequel==
Sir [[Harry Johnston]] wrote a sequel, a novel entitled ''Mrs. Warren's Daughter'', circa 1920.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15380|title=Mrs. Warren's Daughter: A Story of the Woman's Movement by Harry Johnston|via=gutenberg.org|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
A 1960 German film adaption, ''[[Mrs. Warren's Profession (film)|Mrs. Warren's Profession]]'', starred [[Lilli Palmer]].

BBC Television produced a television version first broadcast on 3 October 1972 on [[BBC2]] under the 'Stage 2' drama strand.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/fce706d308d34b28935c4c64df0c7666|title=BBC Programme Index|date=3 October 1972 }}</ref> Produced by [[Cedric Messina]] and directed by [[Herbert Wise]], it starred [[Coral Browne]] in the title role, with [[Penelope Wilton]] as Vivie. Also in the cast were [[James Grout]], [[Robert Powell]], [[Richard Pearson (actor)|Richard Pearson]] and [[Derek Godfrey]]. Under the ''[[Play of the Month]]'' strand, the production was repeated on [[BBC1]] on 21 April 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/66c1ecd4a77a4700ace420bc4b92aad1|title=BBC Programme Index|date=21 April 1974 }}</ref> The production was released on DVD in 2006.

A radio adaptation was broadcast on the [[BBC]] in 2002, and re-broadcast in January 2009 on [[BBC Radio 7]], starring [[Maggie Steed]] in the title role.

Armen Pandola's ''Mrs.Warren's e-Profession'' transforms the story by bringing it into modern times. Mrs. Warren grows rich from her online porn and dating sites while her sheltered daughter recoils from the knowledge that her privileged life is based on the exploitation of women.

==Vivie's character and the changing role of women==

Men who could afford to get married in the Victorian era could make use of “laws that gave him total control of his wife's person—and her fortune”.<ref>Laurence, Dan H. "Victorians Unveiled: Some Thoughts on Mrs. Warren’s Profession". Shaw: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies 24 (2004): 40. Retrieved 2010-03-21.</ref> Victorian women were expected to maintain a poised and dignified manner, and to obey their husbands. Vivie defies the Victorian expectations of an obedient woman: she is educated and entirely self-sufficient. She rejects two marriage proposals, reflecting her reliance on her work ethic and hard-headed approach to life. Shaw represents Vivie as the product of a type of gender reformation: a character who is asexual and "permanently unromantic".<ref>"Mrs. Warren's Profession", ''The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Twentieth Century and Beyond'' (eds. Joseph Black, et al.) Canada: Broadview, 2008</ref>

Throughout the play, the boundary between sexual desires and proposed marriages is blurred. Frank flirts with both Mrs. Warren and Vivie; Mrs. Warren's companion Sir George Crofts proposes marriage to Vivie despite his relationship with her mother. Critic Petra Dierkes-Thrun argues that these examples illustrate the way in which Shaw "critiqued the ideological and economic system that produced her [Mrs. Warren], attacking the problematic double standard of [[male privilege]] and the deeply entrenched objectification of women, which Shaw saw pervading all levels of Victorian society down to its most basic nuclear element, the family."<ref>[http://z3950.muse.jhu.edu/journals/english_literature_in_transition/related/v049/49.3.dierkes-thrun.html Dierkes-Thrun, Petra]. ''English Literature in Transition, 1880–1920'', Volume 49, Number 3, 2006, pp. 293–310 (Article)</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/george-bernard-shaw/mrs-warrens-profession}}
* {{gutenberg|no=1097|name=Mrs. Warren's Profession}}
*  [https://archive.org/stream/mrswarrensprofes00shawuoft#page/n3/mode/2up ''Mrs. Warren's Profession''] on Open Library at the Internet Archive
*{{ibdb show|6327}}
* {{librivox book | title=Mrs. Warren's Profession | author=George Bernard Shaw}}

{{George Bernard Shaw}}

{{New Woman (late 19th century)}}

[[Category:1894 plays]]
[[Category:Plays about British prostitution]]
[[Category:Plays by George Bernard Shaw]]
[[Category:Censored plays]]