Kitty Warren is one of George Bernard Shaw’s most vibrant characters. A fiercely independent and unapologetic madam of a chain of lucrative brothels, she belatedly tries to build a relationship with Vivie her now-grown, emotionally remote and principled daughter, who wants to become a lawyer.

Mrs Warren is now a wealthy matron who could very well retire, except that her enthusiasm for her profitable business venture, keeps her engaged in an enterprise that her daughter is unaware of and which eventually becomes a source of friction between the two.

More-than-a-century-old, this essay on the corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of Victorian and the limits society imposes on women, is still relevant today.

• Mrs Warren’s Profession is being staged at the Manoel Theatre today and tomorrow and next weekend.

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