Professional woman is the heroine for Shaw

“Lord help the world if everybody took to doing the right thing,” says Mrs Warren (Sorcha Cusack) in the Gate Theatre’s new production of George Bernard Shaw’s play, Mrs Warren’s Profession.

The comic-drama centres on a clash of values between a businesswoman of immoral means and her idealistic and modern daughter (Rebecca O’Mara), who is hell-bent on doing the right thing, whatever the cost.

“Vivie is Shaw’s ‘new woman’,” says O’Mara. “There were so many female characters at that time (the 1890s) that were very archetypal, but Vivie is completely original. Shaw wanted the focus to be on this new, independent woman. She’s a feminist. She’s educated. She’s career-oriented. She wants to exercise personal, social and economic control over her own life.”

Directed by Patrick Mason, the Gate production sings with Shaw’s acerbic wit, but also points to the harsh truth that nobody can escape social constraints. Even Shaw’s heroine can only envision freedom through making money, thereby accepting the capitalist principles of her world.

Similarly, Vivie’s huge integrity means that her relationships with others — her family attachments and her hopes for romance — hang in the balance. “In order for her to have her freedom, Vivie has to separate herself from the world,” says O’Mara. “And that does have an air of tragedy about it. She’s so revolted by the corruption and the hypocrisy of the world, that she chooses her integrity above all, but there’s a cost to that. She can’t have any love.”

Young Dubliner O’Mara puts in a wonderfully weighted turn as Vivie. It’s a challenging role. Vivie is reserved and coldly rational, and yet bubbling with spirit and passion.

“There is a balance there and I’m constantly trying to negotiate that,” says O’Mara. “Vivie suppresses her emotions, but it’s all under the surface and it could all go off at any moment.”

The play shifts between comedy and high drama. “As an actress, it’s a gift to have that comedic element, while also getting stuck into the meaty stuff,” says O’Mara. “But that’s the genius of Shaw’s writing. You invite everyone in and you make them laugh. You give them a false sense of security and then you twist the knife. It’s a clever way to provoke people to think.”

The show is a rare performance on home soil for the young Dubliner. O’Mara has been making her name in UK theatre since graduating from the London Academy for Music & Dramatic Art, in 2006. Acting has always been her first love but, notably, this is O’Mara’s second bite at the cherry. Having studied drama at Trinity in the 1990s, she initially opted to move away from performance.

“I was quite a feminist myself and I felt that it wasn’t a very empowering thing for a woman to do,” she says. “I didn’t see how you could hold on to your power as an actress, because you’re not in control of your image.”

However, just as a behind-the-scenes career in film production began to blossom, O’Mara realised her heart wasn’t in it and returned to acting.

“In the end, I had to give in and say ‘this is what I am, I’m an actor’ and to respect that,” she says. “Not everybody can do it. And it’s a good thing to be able to tell stories and play these extraordinary people.”

If her turn in Mrs. Warren’s Profession is anything to go by, O’Mara has certainly done the right thing.

*Mrs. Warren’s Profession runs until May 11