Mother-daughter relationships are diverse and always complex. Some are best friends. Some talk daily, others once a week. Some fight, some do whatever they can to avoid conflict. Some spar regularly. Some avoid conflict. Some talk about everything. Some barely speak to each other. Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey, written when she was just 19 in a post-war Britain, is only one of many, many plays which attempt to explore this fascinating, varied aspect of every woman’s life. The protagonist Jo’s teenage angst is nothing new although it is rather embedded in its time.
Helen (Genevieve Lemon) has always depended on men and the play relies on her vulgarity and sexual indiscrimination to draw a picture of a negligent, selfish mother. Jo (Taylor Ferguson) is dragged along in the wake of her mother’s adventures; resulting in a life of inconsistencies in education, home, affection and care. Swirling around their lives (physically and metaphorically) are the men: Peter (Josh McConville), a younger lover; Jimmy (Thuso Lekwape), a black sailor and Geoffrey (Tom Anson Mesker) a gay man looking for a place in the world. The action is that of the kitchen-sink genre – challenging notions of class, gender, race and sexual identity in a working class environment. It is not the angry-young-man theatre written by the male playwrights of the time. Indeed, it is not at all angry but instead thoughtfully subverts the notions of motherhood and gender roles. It was originally a powerful work with much to make an audience sit up and take notice.
However, the play’s purpose seems to be to disparage the mother and the reasons for this just don’t resonate with a 21st century audience. Whilst many plays travel well, this one seems not to do so. The choice to transpose it to post-war Sydney results in inconsistencies in the script (autumn in November? Sweltering through a pregnancy in winter?). The Australian accents do not allow for the musicality of the script which is embedded in its native north-west English dialect and choices of naturalism sit oddly with other stylistic choices. It has little to offer as a theatrical piece which is particularly meaningful or interesting and seems an odd choice for Belvoir’s Eamon Flack. The audience seemed unsure of what to make of it. Some were enthusiastic in their appreciation; others were distinctly lackadaisical in their response.
Some theatrical companies offer productions which rely on nothing more than box office income and the willingness of volunteers to offer their tired after-work selves. Others manage to attract arts funding and substantial sponsor support and pay their casts and crews. The pressure is on the latter group to create theatrical experiences which are meaningful and highly entertaining to a 21st century audience.
Kate Stratford – Theatre Now
Photography Credit: Brett Boardman
A Taste Of Honey
Shelagh Delaney
21 Jul – 19 Aug 2018
Tuesday & Wednesday 6.30pm
Thursday & Friday 8pm
Saturday 2pm & 8pm
Sunday 5pm
Previews (bookable)
8pm, 21 July
6.30pm, 22 July
8pm, 24 July
Opening Night (invitation only)
8pm, 25 July
Venue: Belvoir: Upstairs
Theatre Company: Belvoir Theatre
Duration: N/A
