George Bernard Shaw’s Misalliance, written in 1910, was undoubtedly progressive for its time. It is typical of a drawing room comedy and not quite French farce, but it does touch on serious issues such as marriage, gender equality, class and socialism, usually in the form of a debate or discussion between two or more characters.

The play is set in the home of Mr John Tarleton (Lindsay Dunn), who has made his considerable fortune by producing underwear. Alex Strickland’s set is quite handsome, with its upstage windows, pillars and cane furniture, and the period costumes have been tastefully selected.

Tarleton’s outspoken and headstrong daughter, Hypatia (Anna Bee), is engaged to Bentley Summerhays (Simon Lancione), the spoilt, screeching, puny, highly-strung son of an aristocrat. Lord Summerhays (Peter Bleby) has also expressed his affection for Hypatia. Mrs Tarleton (Julie Quick) is a grounded, contented conservative – unlike her husband John, who appears to be always in search of an idea.

Act one is terribly English: there is enormous discussion and debate between the characters, which is generally of interest, but Shaw does test his audience’s patience. Although it is almost 100 years old, there are still some lines that are very funny and almost as witty as Wilde; clever lines need to be delivered crisply and accurately if gags are going to work. Shaw has not created very positive images of the aristocratic characters, but some over-acting turns an odious brat into a camp caricature. Shaw’s women are stronger in their natures than the men, and the three actresses bring strength and presence to their roles.

Bee presents Hypatia as a young woman who wants to have adventures and be wicked; she makes a striking entrance and maintains her poise, power and playfulness throughout the performance. Quick gives a solid performance as the lady of the house and, though she is not rebellious, she is a forthright person. One of Shaw’s passions was to write about the inequality between the sexes and the unfortunate plight of women, and these themes are present in Misalliance.

Dunn, as Mr Tarleton, is the embodiment of the self-made man who has not forgotten his roots but is feeling the effects of ageing and the need to maintain his vitality.

At the end of act one, Shaw injects a much-needed event – the crashing of a plane into the greenhouse. Joey Percival (Adam Tuominen) is the dashing pilot and his passenger – a stranger dressed in flying gear – is a woman! And not just any woman – a Polish woman!

By today’s standards it is all quite tame, perhaps even a little lame, but Leah Craig does a very good job as Lina Szczepanowska and she is a welcome contrast to the English household. In Lina, Shaw has provided a model of a liberated woman; she is independent, flies airplanes and is an acrobat. Naturally all the English gentlemen are very attracted to her.

In 1910, this could well have been revolutionary and thought-provoking; we accept it now as entertaining and interesting, rather than provocative.

Tuominen plays Percival effectively as a kind of Bulldog Drummond, Harry Flashman character, but it does become a little one-dimensional. The relationships in this play are all misalliances, as the title suggests, and there isn’t really any genuine passion or desire.

Leighlan Doe arrives late in act two as “The Man”, who is actually the illegitimate son of Tarleton, and he rants and raves about justice and socialism. Either Shaw’s prose was incredulous or the acting was too melodramatic, or perhaps a combination of the two led to the scenes being inconsistent.

Misalliance, like many a play, explores relationships – marriage, in particular – and although class inequality is aired, it is not dealt with in the same detail. The Rep has done a pretty good job of staging this lesser-known work by Shaw, and there are some strong individual performances.

Do we go to such a play to see what is virtually a piece of museum theatre and how plays were staged in 1910, or is there something about it that speaks to a modern audience? Misalliance is worth seeing, but I am not sure that this production answers my question.

Adelaide Repertory Theatre is presenting it at the Arts Theatre in Angas Street until September 20.