A Taste of Honey: 'wonderful' revival remains 'vital and relevant'
The 'period-perfect' production features a 'universally excellent cast'

Shelagh Delaney's unflinching debut – which she wrote when she was still in her teens – was a "real jolt to the system" when it premiered at The Theatre Royal, Stratford, in 1958, said Chris Bartlett in The Stage.
It tells the story of Jo, a white teenager from Salford who has a troubled relationship with her alcoholic mother, is left pregnant as a result of an affair with a black sailor, and befriends a gay artist, with whom she forms an unconventional family. Written nine years before homosexual acts were decriminalised, it "opened theatregoers' eyes to a hitherto unexplored side of British society". There is a risk that a "kitchen-sink" drama of that era will no longer seem "vital and relevant" to modern audiences. But Emma Baggott's "period-perfect" production dispels such concerns. It nails the "horribly dysfunctional" mother-daughter relationship at the play's core, and leans into its "dreamy magic realism" to great effect.
"A Taste of Honey" is a "brilliantly written, beautifully structured work of theatre, as worthy of revival as the socially conscious dramas of Ibsen", said Mark Brown in The Daily Telegraph. And its "passion and pathos" are fully captured here by "a universally excellent cast". As the mother, Jill Halfpenny is "suitably monstrous, but with an intelligent, underlying and brittle fragility"; and there are also "fine performances" from Obadiah as the sailor, Jimmie, and David Moorst as Geoffrey, Jo's friend.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Most impressive of all, though, said Clive Davis in The Times is Rowan Robinson as Jo – "headstrong, wayward and hard to love". Herself from Salford, and making her professional stage debut, Robinson delivers a remarkably mature performance as the "mercurial" young woman "caught between juvenile dreams and adult realities".
The evening has some flaws, said Matt Barton on What's on Stage. The script becomes "declarative" at points; the whole thing could do with a trim; and I wasn't convinced by the way the play is given an "empowering and galvanising" end note: the characters, after all, only get a taste of a better life. Still, this is for the most part a "wonderful" revival that makes Delaney's play "glow" anew.
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Until 13 April Running time: 2hrs 50mins
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
6 sporty homes with tennis courts
Feature Featuring a clay tennis court in New York and a viewing deck in California
-
Critics’ choice: Seafood in the spotlight
Feature An experimental chef, a newspaper-worthy newcomer, and a dining titan’s fresh spin-off
-
Taylor Swift’s Showgirl: Much glitter, little gold
Feature Swift’s new album has broken records, but critics say she may have gotten herself creatively stuck
-
Theater review: Masquerade
218 W. 57th St., New York City 218 W. 57th St., New York City
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Feature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
-
Broadway actors and musicians are on the brink of a strike
The explainer The show, it turns out, may not go on
-
Cyrano de Bergerac: a ‘huge-hearted’ production
The Week Recommends This ‘playful’ and ‘poignant’ rendition brings new life to the ‘gilet-sporting, verse-spouting’ titular soldier
-
I Swear: a ‘warm-hearted’ comedy-drama
The Week Recommends While ‘inescapably hilarious’, the drama also lifts the lid on John Davidson’s experiences with Tourette syndrome