Solving time: 37 mins, one mistake (9ac)

This was enjoyable but I found it very difficult. There was a theme based on George Bernard Shaw’s Three Plays For Puritans, of which I was entirely ignorant – knowledge of these would have made the puzzle hugely easier. (When I solved 13ac I did scan the grid to see if I could cram Pygmalion in anywhere, but to no avail.)

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I made good progress during the first session, solving most of the clues fairly quickly but was held up for a while at the end by 16a and, particularly, 51a. With these resolved all that remained was the unclued thematic entries. There were a few where there was only one possible answer (eg 42a, 54a, 1d & 38d) but the majority had several options.

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