A PLAY deemed so scandalous and was banned for 30 years comes to Salisbury Playhouse.

George Bernard Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession stars Sue Holderness (Only Fools and Horses)and Christopher Timothy (Doctors) and runs from June 30 to July 4.

It follows the story of Vivie Warren, a young Cambridge graduate, is horrified to learn that her education and lavish lifestyle were entirely funded by her mother’s career in the world’s oldest profession.

Mother and daughter are properly acquainted for the first time after Vivie graduates from college and her mother arrives with a potential suitor for her intelligent and independent daughter.

But the truth about Mrs Warren’s Profession is revealed and Vivie must come to terms with her mother’s career which has given her all the opportunities and chances she never had.

The play looks at the hypocrisy towards prostitution and the lack of opportunities for women in Victorian England.

Bernard Shaw wrote Mrs Warren’s Profession in 1894 but the ground-breaking play was banned for the next 30 years by the Lord Chamberlain. And during its first performance in New York the police stopped the play and arrested the cast.

But once the censorship was lifted, it became critically acclaimed, ranking alongside Bernard Shaw’s other masterpieces such as Pygmalion and St Joan.

This revival of Mrs Warren’s Profession is being brought to Salisbury Playhouse by Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham as part of a national tour.

Mrs Warren's Profession also stars Emily Woodward, Christopher Bowen, Ryan Saunders and Richard Derrington. It is directed by Paul Milton and designed by Dawn Allsopp.

Mrs Warren’s Profession will be performed in the Main House at Salisbury Playhouse from Tuesday, June 30 to Saturday July 4 at 7.30pm. There will be matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2.15pm.

For tickets call the ticket office on 01722 320333 or visit go to salisburyplayhouse.com