Mrs. Warren’s Profession: every role by lines, words, and stage time

George Bernard Shaw. 10 speaking roles, 17,851 words, about 128 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Vivie has the most to say in Mrs. Warren’s Profession: about 586 lines and 4,803 words, 26.9% of the play. Mrs. Warren’s Profession sets a clever, independent young woman against the mother whose fortune comes from a shocking trade. Vivie and Mrs. Warren share the lead almost equally, each with over a quarter of the words, and both speak in every act. Frank adds about a fifth, while Crofts is absent from Act 4.

Speaking roles: 10
Scenes: 4
Words: 17,851
Speech time: 128 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Vivie	586	4,803	26.9%	34.3	4
Mrs. Warren	524	4,699	26.3%	33.6	4
Frank	460	3,798	21.3%	27.1	4
Crofts	234	2,003	11.2%	14.3	3
Praed	227	1,784	10%	12.7	4
Rev. S.	94	717	4%	5.1	3
The Gentleman	5	39	0.2%	0.3	1
The Young Lady	2	5	0%	0.0	1
The Young Gentleman	1	2	0%	0.0	1
The Clergyman	1	1	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	Act 1	Act 2	Act 3	Act 4
Vivie
Mrs. Warren
Frank
Crofts
Praed
Rev. S.

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Mrs. Warren: “I mean that you’re throwing away all your chan…”	Act 4	272	28
Mrs. Warren: “Well, of course, dearie, it’s only good manner…”	Act 2	244	25
Mrs. Warren: “Yes: and a very good aunt to have, too. She’s …”	Act 2	240	24
Mrs. Warren: “Of course not. What sort of mother do you take…”	Act 2	218	22
Mrs. Warren: “Liz didn’t, I can tell you: she had more spiri…”	Act 2	215	22
Vivie: “It would not matter if you did: you would not …”	Act 4	213	22
Crofts: “Ha, ha, ha, ha! Go it, little missie, go it: i…”	Act 3	208	21
Mrs. Warren: “No, you don’t. I do. She called herself a wido…”	Act 2	201	21
Mrs. Warren: “Oh, it’s all very easy for Liz: she likes good…”	Act 4	162	17
Mrs. Warren: “But you don’t know all that that means: you’re…”	Act 4	149	15

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in Mrs. Warren’s Profession?

Vivie, with about 586 lines and 4,803 words, 26.9% of everything spoken in the play. Mrs. Warren is next, with about 524 lines (26.3%).

How long is Mrs. Warren’s Profession?

The full text has 17,851 spoken words, about 128 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in Mrs. Warren’s Profession?

10 named roles speak in this edition, across 4 scenes. 4 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.