Photo: Kaarina Venalainen
Mrs. Warren’s Profession
  • Written by George Bernard Shaw
  • Adapted & Directed by Marisa Emma Smith
  • Performed by Linda Quibell, Melissa Oei, Daniel Arnold, Tom Pickett, Eric Keenleyside & Rick Tae
  • Set Design by Lauchlin Johnston
  • Lighting Design by Eugene Mendelev
  • Costume Design by Nita Bowerman
  • Projection Design by Parjad Sharifi
  • Live Music by Shanto Acharya, Meredith Bates, & Elisa Thorn
    • 2014 Critics Choice Innovation Award Nomination. Mrs. Warren's Profession was a community project led by Alley Theatre with Neworld Theatre, Renegade Productions, WISH Drop-In Centre and PACE Society that included a live, immersive theatre experience at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver's downtown eastside, an interactive website, a community panel discussion on sex work, and live music from Juno Award-winning musicians. Director Marisa Emma Smith was inspired by her experience working in a women's shelter to adapt George Bernard Shaw's classic text and produce it in the heart of the DTES. The play, written in 1893, held a timely message considering that the federal government was still deciding on new sex trade legislation during the run. Alley Theatre also executive produced mrswarrens.ca — an interactive website that includes five mini documentaries about sex work and the themes that the play brings to light. Want to explore mrswarrens.ca now? Click here.
    "Mrs. Warren’s Profession has never been more compelling. Smith’s production is stellar."
    Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

    • © Photo of Melissa Oei, Daniel Arnold and Eric Keenlyside by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Daniel Arnold and Melissa Oei by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Melissa Oei and Daniel Arnold by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Linda Quibell and Melissa Oei by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Eric Keenlyside and Melissa Oei by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Tom Pickett and Daniel Arnold by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Melissa Oei, Daniel Arnold, Linda Quibell, Eric Keenlyside, Tom Pickett and Rick Tae by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Eric Keenlyside and Melissa Oei by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Daniel Arnold and Melissa Oei by Kaarina Venalainen

    • © Photo of Rick Tae by Kaarina Venalainen

    • "Quibell is mesmerizing as she walks Shaw’s delicate balance with her love for a daughter and in making no apologies for her chosen profession. There is little argument that many of the questions Shaw raises in Mrs. Warren’s Profession are still relevant today, giving it a surprisingly contemporary feel."
      Mark Robins, Vancouver Presents
    • "Here’s appropriation and modernization done right, curated in a way that delicately balances Shaw’s source material and our troubled relationship with the Downtown Eastside. Social commentary aside, Mrs. Warren just works."
      Cecelia Lu, Vancity Buzz
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