A TASTE OF HONEY till 23 May
A TASTE OF HONEY: Shelagh Delaney.
New Vic: Newcastle Under Lyme.
www.newvictheatre.org.uk
Runs: 2h 45m, one interval, till Sat 23 May.
Review: Rod Dungate, 8 May 2009.
Revelation in this revival.
In a quite remarkable revival, director Gwenda Hughes and her team, bring this play home. They have lopped off its foliage - grown old and tired over the years - and encouraged fresh from the play’s sound root.
We see it warts and all - eccentric, wobbly, fragile, funny, cruel; and most importantly a play written from the soul. This is not a play of the down-trodden, broken-spirited working class but a play about a rough and tough community of people who get on with life because you have to make the best of what you’ve got. As mother, Helen, says: ‘Don’t get trapped - enjoy your life.’ It’s the white middle-classes who have, and have had, such a problem understanding this. And before hands are thrown up in horror, I’m not advocating the joys of poverty - far from it. I’m advocating the idea that (posh, white, middle-class) journalists should get real and stop patronising. But let’s get back to the production . . .
Central to this production’s success is Janice Connolly’s Helen. Connolly is known for her broad comedic playing and brings all of this to create a larger than life character. You absolutely know that this Helen, after a few gins down the local, will be up there doing her number with the best of them. But Connolly’s performance is subtle, too. Her moods change faster than our weather and her portrayal is cleverly devoid of any hint of sentimentality.
So too is Joanna Higson’s performance of Jo. This very real, unfussy, Jo, you sense, is a survivor like her mother - though without her wildness. It’s tempting to sit in judgement on her: ‘Why aren’t you miserable - your life is bleak? Why don’t you do something about it?’ Not to sit in judgement, though, is rather the point of Delaney’s play.
As ever with Hughes’s productions, casting is perfect and the sense of ensemble, strong.
When A TASTE OF HONEY was written to have an illegitimate baby was bad enough, to have a black one was not to be countenanced, and male homosexuals could still be imprisoned. It’s a life-time ago. Yet in this absorbing production we are able to glimpse the spirit of Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and feel the beating heart of this iconic play that was nurtured there.
Mark Chatterton: Peter.
Janice Connolly: Helen.
Howard Gray: Musician.
Duane Hannibal: Jimmie.
Joanna Higson: Jo.
Darren Southworth: Geoffrey.
Director: Gwenda Hughes.
Designer: Michael Hold.
Lighting Designer: Daniella Beattie.
sound Designer: James Earls-Davis.
Musical Director and Arranger: Howard Gray.
Voice Coach: Mark Langley.
2009-05-09 12:45:20