One of the most famous explorations of working-class life in the northwest of England, A Taste of Honey opens at Manchester’s Royal Exchange in March.
Written when she was only 19 years old Shelagh Delaney’s iconic play was developed by Joan Littlewood in the radical Theatre Workshop and subsequently transferred to the West End before becoming an era-defining film.
This sharply observed portrait of working-class life in Salford in the late 1950s was a daring piece of theatre, not only for its gritty realism and honesty, but also for placing two resilient women at the centre of the drama.
In director Emma Baggott’s new production of this stunningly observed play Jill Halfpenny and Rowan Robinson both make their Royal Exchange Theatre debuts as mother and daughter Helen and Josephine.
The cast is completed by David Moorst as Geoffery, Obadiah as Jimmie and Andrew Sheridan as Peter. The play’s exceptional dialogue is heightened by a beautiful jazz score performed by Nishla Smith as the Jazz Singer.
Running from 15 March to 13 April this is a stunning portrayal of the intricate relationship between a mother and daughter in the late 1950s both waiting and hoping for that taste of honey.
Helen has done it again, another fly-by-night flit dragging Jo from one Salford flat to another, only this time she has out done herself giving her daughter panoramic views of the slaughterhouse. But Jo can feel her Mum’s restlessness, another man will appear and lure her away and Jo will be left to fend for herself, so when Jimmie offers to stay for Christmas Jo is swept up in his charm and the promise of escape – no matter how precarious that may be.
A Royal Exchange Theatre production
A TASTE OF HONEY
By Shelagh Delaney
Directed by Emma Baggott
15 March – 13 April
Box Office: 0161 833 9833
Online: royalexchange.co.uk
