Mrs Warren's Profession

George Bernard Shaw had some strong, radical opinions when it came to gender politics, money and social status. Thankfully, he knew better than to clobber audiences over the head with them in stuffy drawing room dramas.

Mrs Warren's Profession tells how the rags-to-riches lady of the title is disowned by her only child, the strong-willed, fiercely intelligent Vivie. The premise sounds thoroughly serious - even more so when it becomes clear that the profession in question is the world's oldest - but this Royal Lyceum and Nottingham Playhouse co-production is exceptionally well-cast and gloriously funny.

Emma Stansfield, best known for her stint in Coronation Street, is superb as Vivie. From her first raised eyebrow to her final defiant stare, she commands the audience's attention, steamrollering her way to independence and breaking hearts as well as taboos as she goes.

Anthony Eden's Frank is equally magnetic - charming, witty and wickedly disrespectful of his elders. The young pair have no shortage of easy targets. Richard Addison perfectly captures the permanent discomfort of Frank's feeble clergyman father, while Dougal Lee's Sir George Crofts is monstrous and pathetic in just the right proportions. Special mention, too, should go to the person responsible for Crofts' suitably ridiculous whiskers, ensuring maximum laughs for Frank's impish assessment that the self-important bore is the 'sort of chap that would take a prize at a dog show'.

Surprisingly, the weakest link in the cast is top-billed star Paola Dionisotti, whose Mrs Warren comes across as a daft old dear rather than a self-made businesswoman and a determined social climber.

While the play's subject matter is unlikely to scandalise a modern audience (it was banned by the Lord Chamberlain in the late 19th century when it was written, and the first public performances were several decades later), the polarised views of the Warren women still have plenty of relevance in a modern world where 'liberated' females openly aspire to become footballer's wives.

The thorny subject of ethical business practice could hardly be more relevant in the 21st century, well over a century after Shaw gave his shaggy-bearded villain the slippery line, 'If I didn't do it, somebody else would, so I'm not doing any harm by it'.