A Taste of Honey - Royal Exchange Manchester

[BurlyBeaR]

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[BurlyBeaR]

Interesting comment in the Guardian’s review by Nick Ahad.

On its premiere, the play was a sensation. It now makes its way back to the stage at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, not far from where it is set, in Delaney’s home town of Salford. Modern audiences are warned of outdated language and attitudes to race and homosexuality, but when you have a character saying she will “drown it” when she discovers that her white daughter will be having a black baby, there needs to be a serious interrogation of the necessity of the play for today.

[oxfordsimon]

What does 'the necessity of the play for today' mean?

Is it that the play tackles attitudes that are shockingly still present today in a number of forms?

Or is the point of the question is that the play is too offensive for modern audiences?

It is far from clear what point is being made

[aspieandy]

It's The Guardian. There is no 'point', it's virtue signalling.

LOL "interrogation". Most people would just have a discussion.

[marob]

Yes, by today’s standards it’s a strong statement to make, but saying someone should have been drowned at birth was until recently a fairly common phrase. Guess it depends how flippantly it’s played, but I don’t really see the issue.

We don’t expect a story centred on a murder to have a “murder’s bad, don’t do it” moral attached so why should something touching on race be any different.

The website gives the age guidance as 12+, which I see they’ve also given to The Importance of Being Earnest. Mentions that receiving a “dazzling makeover” but wouldn’t have thought there was anything particularly strong to warrant that. Or does Victorian attitudes to childminding require a warning now too? 😂

[david]

I’ll be at the REX on Saturday afternoon watching this. It will be interesting to see how people respond to this one.

[Dawnstar]

I wonder what that critic would make of Jenufa, where a baby actually is drowned!

[crabtree]

and don't mention Il Trovatore where the wrong baby is thrown on the fire!

[lightinthedarkness]

I have a free Under 30s ticket going for tomorrows matinee for anyone who wants it! It’s on the notice board.

Gutted I can’t make it anymore, it looks fantastic

[undeuxtrois]

I went last night and honestly found it quite boring. The play seemed to have to no end game and it was tiring to sit through. Quite disappointed as the reviews seemed good.

[david]

A few thoughts from today's matinee visit. Whilst the REX programming has been a mixed bag for me over the last couple of years, this latest offering at the REX from director Emma Baggnott and her team was an excellent and engaging watch for the 2hr 50 minute (including interval). Having used the PWYD scheme for my ticket, the £10 I paid for my row B stalls ticket was definitely worth the value in my opinion. From reading the critic reviews on my way home this evening, I'd  like to add my 4 star rating for this show. It was certainly well received by the audience at the end of the show.

As a Northern kitchen sink drama, Shelagh Delaney's 1958 play is brought to the REX stage by a very watchable cast of 6. Whilst pace wise it is a slow burner of a play the performances of the cast didn't make time drag at all. Central to this play is the mother-daughter relationship of mother Helen (Jill Halfpenny) and daughter Jo (Rowan Robinson) in a post war Salford as they navigate their own fraught relationship with each other as well as with the men that come into their lives. As a pairing, Halfpenny and Robinson are both electric on stage as mother and daughter with excellent on stage chemistry as the banter with the verbal slanging matches between these 2 head strong northern women gets going with the daughter very much in the same mold as her mother - both very headstrong and opinionated but which hides a more fragile side which be seen during the tougher times. What you get from Halfpenny and Robinson are 2 performances that when you watch them on stage feels real and honest that as an audience member you can buy onto that relationship. At times, JH's performance reminded me of Pat Phoenix as Corrie icon Elise Tanner - A Bold, Brash battleaxe northern woman who tells it how it is without the sugarcoating but can show vulnerable side. 

Whilst this a female centric play, the men certainly played their part in the proceedings. For me David Moorst, who having seen him as Puck at the Bridge's AMSND and as Dill in TKAMB is the standout here. With a wonderful sense of comic timing and deadpan line delivery as Jo's friend Geoffrey makes you laugh one minute and draw out sympathy for his situation the next. 

Bringing 1950's Salford to the stage is a set from designer Peter Butler. Walking into the auditorium you are faced with a series of hanging metal girders that are raised or lowered to depending on the emotional need of the scene at that particular point. During the more heated scenes the lowering of the girders helps to create a more oppressive environment. Along with the girders, the a set representing a backstreet bed-sit dominates the main stage. The only issue with this I found was that depending on where you sat, you could have spent a large amount of the play seeing people's backs rather than their faces due to the nature of being staged in the round.  The emotional rollercoaster of the characters and their differing fortunes is also played out with the help of Nisha Smith through her haunting vocals with the lyrics of "Dirty Old Town" which punctuates each scene. All costumes are period pieces.

I think the theme's addressed in Delaney's play are still being seen and played out even in a 2024 society. Whilst many would like to think that attitudes have moved forward since the 1950's, the reality is that maybe as society we haven't progressed as far as we think we have. The audience reaction, certainly to Jo's baby revelation and Helen's response was mixed with some audible shocks and some laughing. 

Overall, I'd say this is a decent play and definitely worth the trip out to Manchester.

[BurlyBeaR]

Saw this tonight with some friends. We all agreed that it only really revved up with the appearance of David Moorst as Geof in Act 2. He brought a completely different and much needed energy to the proceedings and the second half zipped along despite being quite long. Nice to see it done unapologetically in period and without being messed about with.