Mrs Warren’s Profession: Behind the Scenes

In a moment of naivety at the Freshers’ Fayre, I signed up to the Mermaids mailing list. Since then I have been inundated with emails about auditions I don’t have the courage to go to, and plays I don’t have the patience to sit through. Nevertheless, I thought George Bernard Shaw’s once controversial play, Mrs Warren’s Profession, would be a good opportunity to reacquaint myself with the world of amateur dramatics.

I was told a rehearsal would be taking place in the T.V. Room on the second floor of the Union on Friday evening and that I should sit-in to get a feel for the whole process. I found no T.V., but I did find what I was looking for. Once the awkward stares from the room’s inhabitants had abated, I was offered a can of gin and tonic, which I drank, and some gluten free cereal, which I ate. I couldn’t tell if this a poor attempt at showing me how much ‘fun’ acting is or simply a pretentious effort to fulfil the kooky stereotype that so often accompanies their profession, but either way I was grateful.

For those of you unfamiliar with the play, it essentially portrays the relationship between the rich ‘madame’, Mrs Warren, and her daughter Vivie, who up until now has lived in ignorance of where her mother’s riches have come from and struggles to come to terms with her revelation. Filling these roles are Emma Taylor, as Mrs Warren, and Emily Dickson, as Vivie, who both manage to do surprisingly well. Is it offensive to say someone fills the role of a whore ‘well’? It matters not. Taylor in particular manages to don a pair of eyes that seem so filled with odium yet demand such sympathy that from what I saw, her performance will be utterly convincing.

With regards to the four males that make up the rest of the cast, juxtaposition runs throughout. Gino Di Castri, who plays the Reverend, contrasts starkly with his character’s son, Frank (played by Jamie Perriam). An interesting pair not all too dissimilar from Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge from Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach (I’ll let you figure out who’s who when you go and watch the play). Yet each command both stage and role expertly. Meanwhile the harsh leer of Sebastian Carrington-Howell as Crofts provides something of an antithesis to the subtle features of Will Moore, who plays softly spoken artist, Mr. Praed.

On the merit of this merry quartet alone, I would encourage readers to go and see the play. As Di Castri shuffled around stage in a shirt that was slightly too small, with his name written across it in large print (lest he should forget in all the gaiety), I couldn’t help but chuckle. If the night itself is half as amusing as the rehearsal, it will be well worth the money. Furthermore, there is some genuine talent to be seen. When director Emily Bray manages to shackle the impulses of the enthusiastic Perriam, you can see years of experience in his dialogue, especially with the powerful Carrington- Howell. Bray and stage manager Connor Danilson have seemingly done justice to Bernard Shaw’s classic piece and have left me with a much fonder view of the thespian’s world than I began with.

Mrs Warren’s Profession will be showing on the 21st and 22nd of February at 7:30pm in Venue 1 of the Union. Reasonably-priced tickets will be available for purchase on the door.