Imelda Staunton and Her Daughter Bessie Carter Bring Shaw’s Once-Banned “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” to Boston Court Sunday

The double act is the draw. On Sunday at 7 p.m., Boston Court Pasadena closes its end-of-May National Theatre Live block with “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” George Bernard Shaw’s 1902 moral comedy starring five-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton, of “The Crown,” opposite her real-life daughter, Bessie Carter, of “Bridgerton.” It is the first time the two have shared a stage.

Filmed live during the production’s West End run at London’s Garrick Theatre, the staging is directed by Dominic Cooke, who has previously collaborated with Staunton on revivals of “Follies” and “Hello, Dolly!” Carter plays Vivie, an independent-minded Cambridge graduate beginning a career in law. Staunton plays Kitty, her wealthy and estranged mother, whose fortune comes from running brothels across Europe. When Kitty arrives unannounced for a reckoning, the play opens into Shaw’s still-startling argument about the limited choices available to working-class women in Victorian Britain.

Shaw wrote the play in 1893 and saw it banned from public performance in Britain for decades; it received its first uncensored London staging in 1925. The Garrick revival drew strong reviews when it opened in May 2025, with critics calling Staunton and Carter a “magnificent double act” and praising the play’s continued moral force. The NT Live filming, also released that month, runs 1 hour and 45 minutes.

The production contains mature themes and is recommended for audiences 14 and older.

Sunday’s screening is the closing title in Boston Court’s six-program NT Live block that began with “Fleabag” on Thursday. The Pasadena venue continues the series later this summer with additional National Theatre titles.

Mrs. Warren’s Profession” will screen on Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m. Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (626) 683-6801 or visit bostoncourtpasadena.org.