Twiggy Lawson has what it takes to make a great George Bernard Shaw heroine.

She has charm, poise, beauty and a voice that can deliver the great playwright's wit with devastating effect.

In short, our Twiggy, one of the greatest faces of the 20th and, so far, the 21st-Century, easily cuts the mustard as an actress.

She and fellow actress Hannah Yelland, who plays her daughter Vivie in this morality play, act the socks off their four male colleagues at the Theatre Royal this week.

And the men are no mere ciphers. Shaw rounded all his characters and Benedict Blythe, Jeremy Glyde, Ryan Kiggell and Mike Burnside play their parts beautifully.

However, Twiggy and Yelland reign supreme, not least in their final confrontation that sees mother and daughter at their emotional best in a cat fight that burns into your brain.

Twiggy is Mrs Warren. a former working-class girl who has made it as a high-class brothel keeper with premises in Brussels, Vienna and Budapest and a bank balance to rival John Paul Getty.

With her money, she has brought up her daughter to be an educated and respectable lady. To this end, she has had Vivie brought up among respectable folk and kept out of her life until her graduation when she determines to tell her daughter something about how all this has been done.

There are various complications along the way. Sir George Crofts (Glyde) has been Mrs Warren's banker, Mr Praed (Blythe) knows her past and the Rev Samuel Gardner (Burnside) is a former client. Meanwhile, Gardner's son Frank (Kiggell) is desperate to marry Vivie.

But as the facts of Mrs Warren's life leak out, Sir George wants to marry the daughter. Praed wants to teach her about art and beauty and Frank thinks marrying a madam's daughter might not be for the best.

The play, written in 1893, was closed in the USA once the subject matter was made clear. A play about prostitution in prim Manhattan was not well received. In London, the play was not produced until 1925.

It is a fine play worked with all Shaw's wit and passion and delivered impeccably. It is a sheer delight to hear such clear diction.

Twiggy may still have her distinctly Cockney accent (albeit slightly refined, which entirely fits the bill) but every word can be clearly heard.

If you want to see how a Sixties icon has prospered, see this five-star piece which will leave you breathless.

For tickets, call 01273 328488.