MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION by George Bernard Shaw

Adapted by Melanie Spewock

March 14, 2020 – Due to the public health risk accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic, Promethean has cancelled the remaining performances of Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Thank you to all the artists, audiences, and well-wishers who made this project such a success.

Directed by Michael D. Graham

George Bernard Shaw’s funny and relevant attack on hypocrisy. Educated, emancipated Vivie Warren learns that her comfortable life has been entirely funded by her mother’s ill-gotten gains. Can she accept her mother’s past? Can she accept her mother’s continued support? What option does she, or any woman, have?

When he wrote Mrs. Warren’s Profession in 1893, Shaw believed it was unlikely to ever see a public performance. He said, “I do not think there is the least chance of the play being licensed.” And it was not; the Lord Chamberlain refused to grant permission for a production, calling it “immoral and otherwise improper for the stage.” It wasn’t that prostitutes and promiscuity could not be shown on the English stage – they frequently were. It was Shaw’s pragmatic, prosaic, and political take on sex work that was simply too scandalous to be seen. Promethean’s Season 14 continues with Melanie Spewock’s adaptation of this humorous take on limited opportunities for women in the late 19th century. Performances will take place at Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N Clark St.

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Creatives & Crew

Director – Michael D. Graham
Stage Manager – Si Squires-Kasten
Production Manager – Alexa Berkowitz*
Costume Designer – Carrie Campana**
Set Designer & Tech Director – Conor Clark
Dialect Coach – Catherine Gillespie**
Lighting Designer – Ellie Humphrys
Props Designer – Maya Jain
Sound Designer – Colin Kovarik
Photography – Tom McGrath**
Dramaturg – Melanie Spewock