In his preface to Major Barbara Bernard Shaw opined that "A man may not be a gentleman nowadays even if he wishes to". Shaw's view was that society was set up in such a way that it was impossible not to be compromised even if your intentions were good. To set yourself the task of reforming society one person at a time was a fool's errand no matter how hard you tried or how well you shook your tambourine.

The religious can preach and provide lunch in its quest to save the poor from starvation and alcoholism, but Shaw (despite his obvious admiration for the Army) knows the system - or rather "Money and Gunpowder" - will defeat them in the long run.

We start off in the drawing room of Lady Britomart who has some grim news to impart to her son Stephen. He has, at the age of 24, to grow up and what is more his absent father is going to help him do this. Gerry Skeens as Lady Britomart was pitch perfect in her imperiousness and managed to make us both laugh and gasp in short order; "We are Whigs and and believe in Liberty. Let snobbish people say what they please : Barbara shall marry not the man they like, but the man I like". So much for liberty then. Alex Watts as her son Stephen Undershaft gave off the air of one who was determined not to be shifted from the position that he hadn't had to struggle to attain and who was clearly in danger of being blown away by the first stiff breeze that came along. And when it came it was not a breeze but a familial hurricane in the shape of the estranged pater familias Andrew Undershaft. The most recent in a long line of foundlings originally hailing from the parish of St Andrew Undershaft (they should be grateful it wasn't St Andrew by the Wardrobe), Andrew has by the actions of charitable fate dragged himself up to millionaire status by the simple expedient of killing as many people as possible at the greatest possible profit. This monstrous man was to be fought tooth and nail but he knocked over the family skittles in his path, one by one. Lady Britomart needs his money to maintain her position, their first daughter Sarah needs his money to get married, their other daughter Barbara needs money to save souls and her fiancee Adolphus Cusins needs his money to marry Barbara. Niall Bishop as Andrew was suave and yet down to earth, reasonable yet steely eyed, equally at home in drawing room, Salvation Army shelter or munitions factory, always charming on the road to his inevitable triumph. He had to work hardest to charm his daughter Barbara who at some unspecified point in the recent past had found purpose with our father in heaven rather her father in business. Ella Imms as the eponymous Major was persuasive and somewhat mysterious and had something of the Hedda Gabler about her character. Shaw's biographer and fellow playwright St John Ervine thought Major Barbara one of the worst bungled plays ever written by a man of supreme genius "due to the gradual diminuition of Barbara by Andrew " every time he opens his lips". Alex Buckley as her professorial fiancee Adolphus Cusins (based on the Australian classical scholar Gilbert Murray) was totally in her power following her from campaigning Christianity to exploitative capitalism in quite short order. He extracted all the comedy value from the character and more, and compromised to the hilt, faced a future of early mornings and more Barbara related happiness than he could probably cope with.

Adam Hampton-Matthews did a great job of making the fool Charles Lomax an endearing comic turn. A man whose exertions as Lady Britomart says "are more likely to decrease his income than to increase it" and who was sure that a box of matches was no problem in a factory full of high explosive. Helen Corbett as his fiancee Sarah Undershaft had the Shavian short straw in the play offering not even a token resistance to the amoral advance of Andrew and looked set fair even though she only had £800 a year to live on.

The inhabitants of the Salvationists West Ham shelter were a rum bunch. Harrison Obioha exuded the necessary confidence of a misty eyed convert and sneak thief, fooling the Sally Army into thinking him a noble, artistic working man down on his luck. Anne Marie Fearnley was another pretend convert looking for an easy meal but you didn't begrudge her that . Richard Kirby as Peter Shirley really was down on his luck and so loath to take charity that he almost refused his bread and treacle. You believed his struggle was real. His evident self respect and character allowed him to stand up to the menacing third man Bill Walker, an unpleasant, unrepentant and ultimately unconvertible sneerer. Callum McBain was menacing and loathsome as this bullying misogynist, quite mesmerising to watch in his nastiness. I wouldn't have wanted to meet him in a dark alley or even a well lit one. I would certainly have brought Todger Fairmile with me. Pam Gordon as meek Salvationist Jenny Hill didn't stand a chance when they ran into each other but recovered her bright eyed faith in God very quickly. You couldn't help but warm to her attractive vulnerability and worried what might happen to her once she realised that her beloved Major Barbara was gone for good. All the marches and collections in London might not have softened the blow. If you were wondering who actually kept the Salvationists on track then you needed to look no further than Judith Barbeler's Mrs Baines whose combination of prayer, and fundraising was well set to keep things in order after the fleeting Barbara regime was just a distant memory. She was the genuine article, warm, resolute and convincing. It was an impressive team performance all round.

Director Jacqui Marchant-Adams dictated a smart pace so we were never bored and marshalled her likable cast so that no-one was overshadowed. These are considerable achievements given the play's length and Shaw's tendency to populate with more straw men and women than a field full of scarecrows. He makes everybody work hard for their enjoyment. Michael Bettell's amazing revolving stage took us from London square to London shelter to suburban factory in revolutionary fashion and very attractive costuming added to the impressive look of the piece. There was some convincing onstage thumping and a soundscape which helped orientate us, especially the ticking clock in Lady Britomart's house. Shaw always asks difficult questions of actors, directors and audiences and I think they were answered convincingly. Glory Hallelujah.

Photography by Ruth Anthony