FIRST NIGHT REVIEW: Mrs Warren’s Profession – Garrick Theatre, London

By PATRICK MARMION

Published: 00:12 BST, 23 May 2025 | Updated: 00:12 BST, 23 May 2025

Mrs Warren’s Profession, Garrick Theatre, London

Rating:

Mother and daughter Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter went toe to toe last night in the West End as what else but… mother and daughter.

The occasion is George Bernard Shaw’s repertory chestnut Mrs Warren’s Profession, about working-class Mrs Kitty Warren (Staunton) who runs a bordello in Brussels. 

Written in 1893, the play was deemed so disreputable it was banned from public performance until 1925.

We meet Mrs Warren after she’s made a fortune in the sex trade and seen to it her daughter Vivie (Carter, from Bridgerton) has all the advantages she never had.

Vivie has become a maths whiz at Cambridge University and refuses to be cowed by social convention, yet she is astounded to learn of how her mother found wealth.

The diminutive yet ferocious Staunton is a mouse that roars. And the Amazonian yet graceful Carter is a gazelle that purrs.

Although Staunton’s Mrs Warren is a feisty lady of easy virtue, she seems almost fearful of securing the approval of a daughter who enjoys the ethical certainties of a young millennial. 

Written in 1893, ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ was deemed so disreputable it was banned from public performance until 1925

Reuben Joseph, left, and Robert Glenister attend the party at the West End Opening Night of ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’

The cast bow at the curtain call during the press night performance of ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ at The Garrick Theatre on May 22, 2025

And when it comes to the play’s major ding-dong, both seem happy to hold back, safely separated by hefty oak desks.

It’s as if director Dominic Cooke feared being caught in the family crossfire. Instead, his expurgated version occupies safe moral high ground in a production that strips the colour and gaiety from the original. 

He turns it into a stern puritanical parable, in which the women from Mrs Warren’s past appear in bloomers to change scenery and suggest her guilty conscience.

Set in a sunny Surrey garden before decamping to an austere Holborn office, there are solid performances all round – including a growling Robert Glenister as one of Mrs Warren’s former clients. But if you’re hoping for something closer to the bone, you may find this a little too professional.

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FIRST NIGHT REVIEW: Mrs Warren’s Profession – Garrick Theatre, London

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