George Bernard Shaw’s daring play, Mrs Warren’s Profession, comes to the Oxford Playhouse next week.

This controversial classic was written in 1894, yet the ground-breaking play was not allowed a public performance for the next 30 years.

The daring – for Victorian times – story follows young Cambridge graduate Vivie Warren, who is horrified to learn that her education and luxurious lifestyle have been financed by her mother’s career in the world’s oldest profession.

Kitty Warren is critical of the employment opportunities for women in 19th-century Britain, justifying her chosen career to daughter Vivie.

Once Vivie learns why Mrs Warren became a prostitute and, later, a businesswoman with a string of brothels, she accepts the career choice and supports her mother.

However, when she finds out her mother is still involved in running the brothels, when she no longer needs to be, Vivie is furious and leaves her mother.

The plot becomes further complicated when it transpired that Vivie’s boyfriend could actually be her half-brother.

Mrs Warren’s Profession includes the often quoted line: “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”

Sue Holderness, of Only Fools and Horses and The Green Green Grass fame, stars as Mrs Warren, alongside Christopher Timothy of All Creatures Great and Small, Doctors and Dial M for Murder.

George Bernard Shaw’s drama is full of insight and humane understanding, ranking as one of his masterpieces, alongside Pygmalion.

The play runs from Tuesday, July 14, to Saturday, July 18. Tickets starts at £11 and are available on 01865 305305 or online at oxfordplayhouse.com