A Taste of Honey
Encyclopedia
A Taste of Honey is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney
, written when she was 18. It was initially intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalize British theatre and to address social issues that she felt were not being presented. The play was first produced by Joan Littlewood
's Theatre Workshop
and was premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
, a small fringe theatre in London, on 27 May 1958. The production then transferred to the larger Wyndham's Theatre
in the West End
on 10 February 1959. The play was adapted into an award-winning film of the same title
in 1961.
A Taste of Honey is set in Salford in northwestern England in the 1950s. It tells the story of Jo, a seventeen-year-old working class
girl, and her mother, Helen, who is presented as crude and sexually indiscriminate. Helen leaves Jo alone in their new flat after she begins a relationship with Peter, a rich lover who is younger than her. At the same time Jo begins a romantic relationship with Jimmy, a black sailor. He proposes marriage but then goes to sea, leaving Jo pregnant and alone. She finds lodgings with a homosexual acquaintance, Geoffrey, who assumes the role of surrogate father. Helen returns after leaving her lover and the future of Jo's new home is put into question.
A Taste of Honey comments on, and puts into question, class, race, gender and sexual orientation in mid-twentieth century Britain. It became known as a "kitchen sink
" play, part of a genre revolutionising British theatre at the time.
By way of a visual backdrop to A Taste of Honey, Delaney reflected on life in Salford in a documentary, directed by Ken Russell
, for BBC television's Monitor
that was broadcast on 26 September 1960.
The second scene consists of four main parts, Jo's meetings with her boyfriend alternating with her confrontations with Helen. Thus we are made to see how Helen's indifference makes Jo look for happiness in other places. It begins outside: Jo is walking home in the company of her black boyfriend. During a light-hearted, semi-serious dialogue, he asks her to marry him, and she agrees, although he is in the navy and will be away on his ship for six months before they can marry. The boyfriend gives Jo a ring which she hangs round her neck under her clothes in order to hide it from Helen. From the conversation we learn that Jo is really leaving school and is going to start a part-time job in a pub. The next sequence takes place inside the flat (without a change of scenery). Helen informs Jo that she is going to marry Peter. Peter enters, and a dialogue that is frequently hostile but also funny evolves between the three: instead of only Jo and Helen attacking each other, a more complex pattern evolves, with Jo attacking the others, the others attacking Jo, and Helen attacking both Peter and Jo. Jo is truly upset at the thought of Helen marrying Peter, but also pesters and provokes him in an effort to antagonise him even more. After Helen and Peter leave her on her own for Christmas, Jo weeps and is consoled by her black boyfriend. She invites him to stay over Christmas, although she has a feeling that she will never see the boy again. After a pause and some moments of darkness on stage, we see Helen and Jo on stage, on the occasion of Helen's wedding day after Christmas. Jo has a cold and will not be able to attend at the wedding. Since she is in her pyjamas, Helen catches a glimpse of the ring around her neck and learns the truth. She scolds Jo violently for thinking of marrying so young, with one of her occasional bursts of real feeling and concern for her daughter. Asked by Jo about her real father, Helen explains that she had been married to a "Puritan" and that she had to look elsewhere for sexual pleasure. Thus she had her first sexual experience with Jo's father, a "not very bright man," a "bit retarded". She then hurries off to her wedding.
In the second scene of act two, the baby is due any moment. Jo and Geoff seem happy. He reassures her that Helen was probably mistaken about or exaggerating the mental deficiencies of Jo's father. Geoff has bought a doll for Jo to practise handling the baby but Jo flings it to the ground because it is the wrong colour: Jo assumes that her baby will be as black as its father. Her momentary outburst against the baby, motherhood and womanhood is short-lived, however, and she and Geoff are about to have tea when Helen enters with all her luggage from Act 1. Apparently, she has been thrown out by Peter and now plans to stay with Jo. In order to get rid of Geoff, she behaves very rudely to him, while overwhelming her daughter with advice and presents.Jo defends Geoff, but while she is asleep, Geoff decides to leave since Helen is too strong for him and he does not want to tear Jo to pieces between them. When Jo wakes up, Helen pretends that Geoff is out doing the shopping. When she learns that the baby will be black, she loses her nerves and rushes out for a drink, despite the fact that Jo's labour pains have just begun. Alone, Jo happily hums a tune Geoff sang before, still not having realised that he is gone.
of the band The Smiths
, who used Delaney's photo on the album cover artwork for Louder Than Bombs
. A photograph of Shelagh Delaney appears on the cover for The Smiths' single "Girlfriend in a Coma
". An earlier Smiths song, "This Night Has Opened My Eyes", is based on the play and includes Geoffrey's line to Jo near the end: "The dream has gone but the baby is real." Other quotations and near-quotations appear in several other songs by The Smiths and Morrissey.
The play is also referred to by Akira the Don in the title track on the album Thieving (2008), in which it appears to awaken him to literature in a school English lesson.
Shelagh Delaney
Shelagh Delaney, FRSL was an English dramatist and screenwriter, best-known for her debut work, A Taste of Honey ....
, written when she was 18. It was initially intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalize British theatre and to address social issues that she felt were not being presented. The play was first produced by Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood
Joan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
's Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
and was premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
, a small fringe theatre in London, on 27 May 1958. The production then transferred to the larger Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
on 10 February 1959. The play was adapted into an award-winning film of the same title
A Taste of Honey (film)
A Taste of Honey is a 1961 British film adaptation of the play of the same name by Shelagh Delaney. Delaney adapted the screenplay herself, aided by director Tony Richardson, who had previously directed the first production of the play...
in 1961.
A Taste of Honey is set in Salford in northwestern England in the 1950s. It tells the story of Jo, a seventeen-year-old working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
girl, and her mother, Helen, who is presented as crude and sexually indiscriminate. Helen leaves Jo alone in their new flat after she begins a relationship with Peter, a rich lover who is younger than her. At the same time Jo begins a romantic relationship with Jimmy, a black sailor. He proposes marriage but then goes to sea, leaving Jo pregnant and alone. She finds lodgings with a homosexual acquaintance, Geoffrey, who assumes the role of surrogate father. Helen returns after leaving her lover and the future of Jo's new home is put into question.
A Taste of Honey comments on, and puts into question, class, race, gender and sexual orientation in mid-twentieth century Britain. It became known as a "kitchen sink
Kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
" play, part of a genre revolutionising British theatre at the time.
By way of a visual backdrop to A Taste of Honey, Delaney reflected on life in Salford in a documentary, directed by Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
, for BBC television's Monitor
Monitor (TV series)
Monitor was a BBC arts programme that was launched on 1 September 1958 and ran until 1965.Huw Wheldon was the first editor from 1958 to 1964. He was also the principal interviewer and anchor...
that was broadcast on 26 September 1960.
Act 1
In the first scene, Helen and her teenage daughter; Jo, are moving into a shabby flat. Within a few minutes we learn that they have little money, living off Helen's immoral earnings (the money given her by her lovers, although she is not a true prostitute, being more of a "good time girl"). Helen is a regular drinker, and she and Jo have a rather confrontational and ambiguously inter-dependent relationship. As they settle in, Helen's surprise at some of Jo's drawings both suggests Jo's talent and originality and shows Helen's lack of interest in and knowledge about her daughter. Jo rejects the idea of going to an art school, blaming Helen for having interrupted her training all too often by moving her constantly from one school to another. Jo now only wants to leave school and earn her own money so that she can get away from Helen. After this exposition of their past lives and present relationship, Peter (Helen's younger boyfriend) comes in. Jo assumes that Helen has moved here to escape from him, but we are never told the reason why. Peter had not realised how old Helen was until he sees her daughter. Nonetheless he asks Helen to marry him, first half jokingly, then more or less in earnest. When Peter leaves, most of the basic information about the two women characters has been given, and most of this has arisen quite naturally through the dialogue.The second scene consists of four main parts, Jo's meetings with her boyfriend alternating with her confrontations with Helen. Thus we are made to see how Helen's indifference makes Jo look for happiness in other places. It begins outside: Jo is walking home in the company of her black boyfriend. During a light-hearted, semi-serious dialogue, he asks her to marry him, and she agrees, although he is in the navy and will be away on his ship for six months before they can marry. The boyfriend gives Jo a ring which she hangs round her neck under her clothes in order to hide it from Helen. From the conversation we learn that Jo is really leaving school and is going to start a part-time job in a pub. The next sequence takes place inside the flat (without a change of scenery). Helen informs Jo that she is going to marry Peter. Peter enters, and a dialogue that is frequently hostile but also funny evolves between the three: instead of only Jo and Helen attacking each other, a more complex pattern evolves, with Jo attacking the others, the others attacking Jo, and Helen attacking both Peter and Jo. Jo is truly upset at the thought of Helen marrying Peter, but also pesters and provokes him in an effort to antagonise him even more. After Helen and Peter leave her on her own for Christmas, Jo weeps and is consoled by her black boyfriend. She invites him to stay over Christmas, although she has a feeling that she will never see the boy again. After a pause and some moments of darkness on stage, we see Helen and Jo on stage, on the occasion of Helen's wedding day after Christmas. Jo has a cold and will not be able to attend at the wedding. Since she is in her pyjamas, Helen catches a glimpse of the ring around her neck and learns the truth. She scolds Jo violently for thinking of marrying so young, with one of her occasional bursts of real feeling and concern for her daughter. Asked by Jo about her real father, Helen explains that she had been married to a "Puritan" and that she had to look elsewhere for sexual pleasure. Thus she had her first sexual experience with Jo's father, a "not very bright man," a "bit retarded". She then hurries off to her wedding.
Act 2
Several months later. Jo is living alone in the same old shabby flat. She works in a shoe shop by day and in a bar in the evenings in order to afford the rent. She is pregnant, and her boyfriend has not (yet?) come back to her. She returns from a funfair to the flat in the company of Geoff an "effeminate" art student, who has possibly been thrown out from his former lodgings because his landlady suspected he was gay. Jo offends him with her insensitive inquisitiveness about his sexuality, and he in turn maliciously criticises her drawings. She apologises and asks him to stay, sleeping on the couch. Geoff shows concern for Jo's problems, and they develop a friendly, joking relationship. A moment of darkness marks the passage of time, and next we see Jo irritable and depressed by her pregnancy, with Geoff patiently consoling her. Then, seeking reassurance himself he kisses her and asks her to marry him. Jo says that although she likes him she cannot marry him, and he misses that she makes a sexual pass at him, something confirming that "it is not marrying love between us". At this point, Helen enters. She has been contacted by Geoff, who wishes to keep this fact secret from Jo. Jo, however, guesses that much and is angry with both Helen and Geoff. Whenever Geoff tries to interfere in the quarrel between the two women, he is attacked by one or the other or both. As Helen is offering Jo money, Peter comes in, very drunk, and takes back the money and Helen's offer of a home to Jo. He leaves insisting that Helen come with him; after a moment's hesitation she runs after him.In the second scene of act two, the baby is due any moment. Jo and Geoff seem happy. He reassures her that Helen was probably mistaken about or exaggerating the mental deficiencies of Jo's father. Geoff has bought a doll for Jo to practise handling the baby but Jo flings it to the ground because it is the wrong colour: Jo assumes that her baby will be as black as its father. Her momentary outburst against the baby, motherhood and womanhood is short-lived, however, and she and Geoff are about to have tea when Helen enters with all her luggage from Act 1. Apparently, she has been thrown out by Peter and now plans to stay with Jo. In order to get rid of Geoff, she behaves very rudely to him, while overwhelming her daughter with advice and presents.Jo defends Geoff, but while she is asleep, Geoff decides to leave since Helen is too strong for him and he does not want to tear Jo to pieces between them. When Jo wakes up, Helen pretends that Geoff is out doing the shopping. When she learns that the baby will be black, she loses her nerves and rushes out for a drink, despite the fact that Jo's labour pains have just begun. Alone, Jo happily hums a tune Geoff sang before, still not having realised that he is gone.
Characters
- Helen: A hardened, working class single mother and alcoholic.
- Josephine, her daughter: A teenage girl, known as 'Jo', raised solely by Helen.
- Peter: Helen's younger, wealthy boyfriend from LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - The Boy: Also known as Jimmy, a black sailor, Jo falls in love with him and becomes pregnant.
- Geoffrey: An art student in his early twenties who becomes Jo's roommate and friend.
Original cast and crew (1958, London)
- Helen - Avis BunnageAvis BunnageAvis Bunnage was a British actress of film, stage and television.She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She worked as a secretary and a nursery teacher before deciding to become an actress...
- Josephine - Frances CukaFrances CukaFrances Cuka is a British actress, principally on television, whose career has spanned nearly fifty years.Cuka was born in London, England, the daughter of Letitia Alice Annie , a tailor, and Joseph Cuka, a process engraver. On stage, she created the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney's play A Taste of...
- Peter - Nigel DavenportNigel DavenportNigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
- The Boy - Clifton JonesClifton JonesClifton Jones is an actor, mostly known for his roles on British television.His most prominent role is probably that of David Kano during the first season of the science fiction series Space: 1999....
- Geoffrey - Murray MelvinMurray MelvinMurray Melvin is an English stage and film actor.The son of Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred Driscoll, he is best known for having created the role of Geoffrey in the Shelagh Delaney play, A Taste of Honey, a role which he recreated opposite Rita Tushingham in the 1961 film of the same name...
- The Apex Jazz Trio- Johnny Wallbank (cornet), Barry Wright (guitar), Christopher Capon (double bass)
- Setting by - John BuryJohn Bury (theatre designer)John Bury was a British set designer, costume designer and lighting designer who designed in theatre in the UK, West End and Broadway and international opera. He had a long creative relationship with director Peter Hall...
- Costumes by - Una Collins
Original Broadway Cast (1960)
- Helen - Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
- Josephine - Joan PlowrightJoan PlowrightJoan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier, DBE , better known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English actress, whose career has spanned over sixty years. Throughout her career she has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two BAFTA Awards...
- Peter - Nigel DavenportNigel DavenportNigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
- The Boy - Billy Dee WilliamsBilly Dee WilliamsWilliam December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
- Geoffrey - Andrew RayAndrew RayAndrew Ray was an English actor who was best known as a child star.He was born Andrew Olden , in North London, the son of the famous radio comic Ted Ray and his wife, showgirl Dorothy...
Broadway Revival Cast (1981)
- Helen - Valerie FrenchValerie French (actress)Valerie French was a British film actress and later stage actress beginning in the 1950s.-Career:Born Valerie Harrison in London, England, French entered into film acting in her early 20s, with her first film appearance being in the 1954 film Maddalena...
- Josephine - Amanda Plummer
- Peter - John CarrollJohn Carroll-People:*John Carroll , American actor*John Carroll , Australian neoconservative writer*Sir John Carroll , British scientist*John Carroll -People:*John Carroll (actor) (1906–1979), American actor*John Carroll (author) (born 1944), Australian neoconservative writer*Sir John Carroll (astronomer)...
- The Boy - Tom WrightTom WrightTom Wright may refer to:*Tom Wright , American film and Broadway actor*Tom Wright , Australian actor*Tom Wright , Victorian Football League player...
- Geoffrey - Keith ReddinKeith ReddinKeith Reddin is an American actor and playwright. He received his B.S. in 1978 from Northwestern University and then went on to attend The Yale University School of Drama until he received his M.A. in 1981....
Adaptation for Radio 3 Cast (2004)
- Helen - Siobhan FinneranSiobhan FinneranSiobhan Finneran is an English television and film actress from Oldham in Lancashire, England.-Career:Siobhan's first major role was as Rita in the 1986 film, Rita, Sue and Bob Too. Since 2007 she has played Janice in ITV's popular comedy drama Benidorm, appearing in all 4 series and both specials...
- Jo - Beth Squires
- Peter - Charles LawsonCharles LawsonCharles Lawson is a Northern Irish film and television actor.-Early life and education:He was born Quintin Charles Devenish Lawson in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland,...
- The Boy - Richard MylanRichard MylanRichard Mylan is a British stage and television actor and former dancer.He was born in Swansea in 1973. There he attended the Birchgrove junior school, where he played rugby and in 1982 won the Swansea heat of the British 'Disco Kids Championships'...
- Geoffrey - Andrew SheridanAndrew Sheridan (actor and playwright)Andrew Sheridan is a British actor first known for his role as the autistic teenage factory worker KT in the BAFTA award winning television series Clocking Off . He was born in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England....
2006 - various theatres
- Helen - Samantha GilesSamantha GilesSamantha Giles is a British actress, probably best known for playing Bernice Thomas in Emmerdale , a role which earned her a TV Quick Award for Best Actress and a nomination for a National Television Awards for Most Popular Actress , and Sally Boothe in Where the Heart Is .Giles's other TV...
- Josephine - Samantha Robinson
- Peter - Andonis Anthony
- Jimmy- Chris JackChris JackChristopher Raymond Jack is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a lock. He has played for Canterbury and the Tasman Makos in the National Provincial Championship and its successor, the Air New Zealand Cup; the Crusaders in Super Rugby; Saracens in the Guinness Premiership; and...
- Geoffrey - Bruno LangleyBruno LangleyBruno Langley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street and Adam Mitchell in Doctor Who.- Early life :...
2008 Royal Exchange Theatre
- Helen - Sally LindsaySally LindsaySally Lindsay is an English actress best known for playing the role of Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV1 Soap opera Coronation Street...
- Josephine - Jodie McNee
- Peter - Paul PopplewellPaul PopplewellPaul Popplewell was born in 1977 and raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.He became a professional Actor aged 16 when he dropped out of college after gaining the lead role of Simon in multi award winning BBC Television Drama ‘Criminal’ for which he won Best Actor at the Golden Chest Film...
- Jimmy - Marcel McCalla
- Geoffrey - Adam GillenAdam GillenAdam Gillen is a British actor. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2007. In 2009 he was nominated for a TMA Award for Best Supporting Performance in a play for the Royal Exchange Theatre Company’s A Taste of Honey. In 2011 he appeared as Moses in The School for Scandal, in a...
Popular references
The play was admired by MorrisseyMorrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
of the band The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, who used Delaney's photo on the album cover artwork for Louder Than Bombs
Louder Than Bombs
Louder Than Bombs is a compilation album by the English rock band The Smiths. It was released as a double album in March 1987 by their American record company, Sire Records. Its highest chart position was number 63. Popular demand prompted their British record company, Rough Trade, to issue the...
. A photograph of Shelagh Delaney appears on the cover for The Smiths' single "Girlfriend in a Coma
Girlfriend in a Coma (song)
-Covers:* Mojo Nixon's cover of "Girlfriend in a Coma" on his 1995 album Whereabouts Unknown is in his usual psychobilly style. After the bridge, Mojo asks that the listener not blame him for the lyrics, launching into one of his trademark "rants" in which he finally declares that "I, Mojo Nixon,...
". An earlier Smiths song, "This Night Has Opened My Eyes", is based on the play and includes Geoffrey's line to Jo near the end: "The dream has gone but the baby is real." Other quotations and near-quotations appear in several other songs by The Smiths and Morrissey.
The play is also referred to by Akira the Don in the title track on the album Thieving (2008), in which it appears to awaken him to literature in a school English lesson.