Imelda Staunton and daughter Bessie Carter to star in West End revival of Mrs Warren?s Profession
Imelda Staunton and her daughter, Bessie Carter, are to share the stage for the first time this summer in a West End revival of Mrs Warren?s Profession by George Bernard Shaw.
Carter will take the role of Cambridge graduate Vivie Warren who discovers that her mother, Kitty (played by Staunton), has made her fortune from running brothels. Staunton, who will reunite with director Dominic Cooke after their hit productions of the musicals Hello, Dolly! and Follies, said that Mrs Warren?s Profession ?asks ever pertinent questions about the role of women in society, and the choices they make for survival?.
Shaw?s comical 1893 drama about morality, hypocrisy and corruption was deemed ?improper? and banned from public performance by the Lord Chamberlain. Cooke said it ?still has the power to shock with its frank and provocative examination of the exploitative nature of society and the double standards applied to women?.
Mrs Warren?s Profession is designed by Chloe Lamford and produced by Sonia Friedman. It will run at the Garrick theatre in London from 10 May until 16 August. Full casting has not yet been announced.
Carter, best known as Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton, is the daughter of Staunton and her husband, the actor Jim Carter. All three starred together on screen in the BBC TV series Cranford, based on Elizabeth Gaskell?s novels.
It is not the first time that the main roles in Shaw?s play have been played by a real-life mother and daughter. Caroline Quentin and Rose Quentin played Kitty and Vivie in a 2022 touring production directed by Anthony Banks which opened at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2022.
