Once Banned, Now Back: Mrs Warren’s Profession on Stage Again
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| By
Hay Brunsdon
Mrs Warren’s Profession was the play they tried to hide! Once outlawed for its scandalous subject matter, George Bernard Shaw’s provocative play returns to the West End — and reminds us how far the stage has come.
In 1893, George Bernard Shaw wrote a play so controversial that it was banned from the stage for over three decades. Mrs Warren’s Profession, now making its triumphant return to the West End starring Imelda Staunton, explores the economic realities faced by women in Victorian Britain — specifically through the lens of a woman who supports her daughter through sex work. At the time, this subject matter was deemed unthinkable for public performance.
The Lord Chamberlain, Britain’s official theatre censor, swiftly prohibited the play, labelling it indecent. A private performance was held in London in 1902, but when an attempt was made to stage it publicly in New York, the production was raided by police. British audiences would have to wait until 1925 — 32 years after its creation — to see it performed on a public stage.
The censorship of Mrs Warren’s Profession is not an isolated case. Shaw’s play joined a long list of dramatic works that rattled the establishment and paid the price. Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, for example, tackled taboo topics like venereal disease, incest, and suicide — and was promptly banned in Britain after its 1881 release. It wasn’t staged there until decades later, and only after causing outrage across Europe.
Similarly, the rock musical Hair faced resistance on both sides of the Atlantic. Known for its nudity, drug use, and depiction of 1960s counterculture, Hair would have been impossible to stage in Britain before 1968. As mentioned in the BBC News article in 2018, the musical’s West End debut — featuring a now-infamous nude scene — happened just hours after the Theatres Act abolished censorship. Before that, even a passing reference to Walt Whitman’s poetry in John Osborne’s Personal Enemy was banned for allegedly alluding to homosexuality.
It’s not just original plays that have faced censorship — several stage adaptations of banned books have also stirred controversy. To Kill a Mockingbird, frequently banned in schools for its frank portrayal of race relations, has become a powerful stage drama. The Color Purple, adapted from Alice Walker’s novel, was once considered inappropriate for its depictions of sexuality and spirituality, yet now stands as a joyful celebration of community and female empowerment. Stephen King’s Carrie, banned in some US states, was adapted into a musical so infamous it closed after just five performances. Orwell’s 1984, once banned for its sexual content and perceived politics, shocked audiences in its stage version. Even One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest continues to challenge norms in immersive productions today.
Now, with Mrs Warren’s Profession back where it belongs — centre stage — audiences can reflect not just on the play’s enduring themes, but on the long, winding road to artistic freedom. What was once banned is now part of our theatrical heritage — and all the more powerful for it.