An amorous indiscretion and a potential scandal combine to scuttle a promising political career in “Waste” at Marin Theatre, running through March 2.

Former longtime American Conservatory Theater Artistic Director Carey Perloff helms an A-list cast in Harley Granville-Barker’s little-known British play from 1906 — one that was banned for more than 20 years due to themes of adultery and abortion. Several other colliding issues get worked over too, such as the relationship between church and state, funding for public education, women’s rights and the limits of political aspiration — all of them still current in one form or another.

On an austere, imposing set by Arnel Sancianco, we meet lawyer and politician Henry Trebell (Marin Theatre Artistic Director Lance Gardner) in a persistent late-night pursuit of London socialite Amy O’Connell (Marin’s Liz Sklar), whose husband has been away in Ireland for a year or more. Trebell doesn’t exhibit much interest in her other than as a temporary conquest, but she seems truly appreciative of the attention. Lonely women can be that way.

Their seductive pas de deux occupies the entirety of the opening scene’s 30 or so minutes. Gardner and Sklar are both in fine voice — as are all the cast’s other members, an absolute necessity in that “Waste” is almost entirely conversational, with minimal action.

It’s a lot to ask of contemporary audiences expecting something of interest to happen onstage. Instead we get protracted discussions between social reformer Trebell and a church official named Charles Cantelupe (A.C.T. veteran Anthony Fusco). Trebell is adamant about separating the English state from the Anglican Church, an institution long responsible for basic education. He ponders how to pay for a new nationwide education program and how to create a system of colleges to train new teachers, matters of pressing urgency at the time the play was written, and, of course, are still important today.

Like hot air balloons inflated with high-minded prose, the drama’s conversations float on for what seems like forever without reaching any destination. Along the way, we meet Trebell’s somewhat conspiratorial friend Dr. Wedgecroft (Jomar Tagatac), Midlands politician Blackborough (Mike Ryan), incoming Prime Minister Lord Horsham (Daniel Cantor), Trebell’s loyal sister Frances (Leontyne Mbele-Mbong), his secretary Walter (Joseph O’Malley), Walter’s fiancée Lucy Davenport (Anna Takayo) and finally, Amy’s husband Justin (O’Malley again). Trebell is angling for a power position in the House of Commons, but his impulsive indiscretion threatens “to bite him in the ass,” in the contemporary American idiom. It also has dire consequences for Amy that propel the story’s grim denouement.

Imagine listening to Patrick Stewart reading from an encyclopedia. His beautiful diction and the pleasant resonance of his voice would tend to mask the tedium of his subject matter — at least for a while. “Waste” has some similarities. While a few characters — Amy, Walter and, to a certain extent, Dr. Wedgecroft — exhibit palpable emotions, in large part this play is an emotionless masterclass in stentorian pontification — a gaggle of manly men barking at each other in ornately convoluted sentences. But it’s barking done at an expert level, a conundrum for those whose task is to inform potential ticket buyers if a performance is a good use of time and money.

To torture a different comparison, “Waste” is the theatrical equivalent of a thumping rock concert without a tender ballad or variation in the sound pressure level. The emotional dynamic range is extremely limited. Nuance seems to have been ignored in favor of getting the dialog and accents right — which they are, thanks to dialect coach Christine Adaire. Kudos also to costume designer Maggie Whitaker, whose creations look absolutely period-appropriate.

Playwright Granville-Barker was a contemporary of George Bernard Shaw. This piece is very much in the stilted formal style of Henrik Ibsen and other playwrights of the mid-to-late 19th century. A polemic against petty moralism, it offers a fascinating contrast to the present day. Behaviors that were once considered reprehensible are now deemed inconsequential — the sitting president of the United States, for example, is a confessed serial adulterer and a convicted felon.

The whole nature of Western culture abruptly changed in the days following World War I. It’s notable that “Waste” was banned in 1907 and readmitted to the theatrical canon 20 years later. From the cultural and historical perspective, it’s very informative, but as an evening’s entertainment must be approached with some caution: a five-star performance of a two-star script. If your tastes include enjoying Shaw’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” or any of Shakespeare’s historical plays, it may be just the thing for you.

Marvelous additions to Marin Theatre’s first play of 2025 are play-related art displays in the lobby. “Waste” includes a wonderful sculptural installation by Jason Sheldrick about banned plays, and fantastic paintings by Erica Deeman and Maeve O’Sullivan. The lobby alone is a worthy art destination.

Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact him at barry.m.willis@gmail.com.