Written by George Bernard Shaw, Caroline and Rose Quentin delivered an enjoyable performance of Mrs Warren’s Profession; a progressive thinking play which, considering Bernard Shaw wrote it in the 19th century, created a forward-thinking, independent daughter who directly challenges her mothers and society’s expectations of her. 

 

The liberal views expressed in the play were so provoking at the time that it led to its banning for 30 years by Lord Chamberlain. However, in the 21st century it managed to evoke a variety of emotions as laughs, tears and gasps were heard from engaged audience members. Emma Seewoo, 16 said the play was “a reminder of how far women have come” and it is a credit to the playwright that over 100 years later the play still can have so much impact on an audience. 

 

The casting of the two female protagonists as an actual mother and daughter couple created an incredibly accurate portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship, that left the audience with tear filled eyes after the intense scene at the end of Act 1 which so clearly portrayed the mother yearning for the daughters approval and the lack of understanding from the offspring.


 

However, there was an anticlimactic and almost rushed ending that made the second act feel incomparable with the first, and left the audience with an unsatisfactory feeling. There was a sense that something was missing from the finale and after the engaging start, the second act didn’t live up to the impressive bar the first act set. 


 

The highlight of the play has to be given to the unforgettable soliloquy at the end of Act 1 delivered by Caroline Quentin, most known for her works in Men Behaving Badly and Agatha Christie’s Marple, that enthralled the audience, leaving them hanging onto her every word and itching for the second act.