A Taste of Honey New Vic Theatre

FLYING vegetables, a musician who is part of the furniture and a grotty flat with a view of Salford's gasworks are just some of the varied ingredients of Shelagh Delaney's play, A Taste of Honey, written when she was 18.

It was produced at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in 1958 then ran in the West End and on Broadway before becoming a successful film, with a theme made famous by the Beatles.

Helen, a reluctant single mother with a fondness for whisky and bad taste in men moves into the flat with her teenage daughter, Jo.

Usefully it comes with musician attached, available to hand out matches, emphasise a point with a few chords or provide the tune for a song or dance.

The women argue constantly, and Jo, neglected and needy, is soon left to fend for herself when Helen takes off with a rich lover.

History repeats itself. Jo has to come to terms with being pregnant in poverty, and ultimately having only her own inner strength to rely on.

The script raises many issues – parental responsibility, mixed-race relationships, homosexuality (still illegal in 1958), women's dependence on men, illegitimacy – but provides little debate. Delaney aimed for realism, not politics.

The plot lacks credibility, with most characters having little motivation for their actions.

The success of the play rests on the skill of its actors and its sharp dialogue, particularly now, 50 years on from its creation, when attitudes have changed so much.

This is no problem for the New Vic company. Joanna Higson impresses as the sulky, angry, yet fiercely independent Jo.

Janice Connolly excels as her selfish mother and builds a superb relationship with the audience, to whom many of her remarks are addressed – despite accidently hitting one man with a badly aimed aubergine.

They and the rest of the cast deliver Delaney's many witty lines to great effect.

A Taste of Honey is a production well worth seeing.

It's at the New Vic Theatre in Basford until May 23. Call 01782 717962.

Anne Duffell