A Taste of Honey: A Play

I found this play to be both fascinating and not the least boring. As said before, perhaps it is too British, but that is what the play is about; trying to find a moment of happiness in a post-war society that saps the very life out of you and stops you from ever bettering yourself. The storyline may seem "simplistic" at first, but the richness of dialogue and its subtlety make for interesting reading and thought. If you have a pre-occupation with our drab and dreary little island then I would hartly reccommend this play, as it is very true to what it sets out to be. However, if you're "lucky" enough to live in a warmer climate then maybe this play just won't be your cup of tea...

Throughout literary history, it has always been the most controversial or polemical works that stand out from the others, and take their place alongside other trailblazing novels. This being the case, it is certainly very clear why `A Taste Of Honey' has come to be regarded as one of the most important works of the 20th century. In its time a revolutionary play, this piece has managed to live up to its reputation, even over the many years since its was first published. The reason this famed play became so successful in the first place was precisely because it touched upon so many tender issues that had been strict taboos until it was written. First being published in 1959, `A Taste Of Honey' was released at a time when the world was just starting to get back to normal after the second world war. In an era of turmoil and uncertainty, the issues depicted in the play were precisely the ones that dominated lower class Britain, but, ironically, they were not the ones that were shown by the media, for they were considered to be too lowly to be worthy of depiction. Shelagh Delaney's piece, however, changed this quite drastically for all of a sudden the very issues which the upper class public was trying to avoid, were shoved into their faces. Right from the start of the play, the author makes it quite clear that this will be no ordinary play; touching on such a wide variety of issues ranging from poverty to abortion and prostitution, `A Taste Of Honey' shocked viewers around the world for, for the first time, a play was showing the true realities that ordinary people coexisted with. Although stunned at first, audiences soon started appreciating the play for they began to identify themselves with different characters in it, and therefore started to relate to it, which increased there liking of the piece, making it a success. In a world were the rich dominated, poverty was shown as an acceptable status; In a society were values were highly held, a prostitute was the main character; In a community where families meant everything, a mother abandoned her daughter to go live with her new husband; In an ambience were medicine was still an almost unexplored field, abortion was mentioned; And in a place where a classic, suburban family was considered the only reality which could exist, `A Taste of Honey' was written.

This is one of the better plays I've read by a 1900's writer. The dialogue is natural and gripping, and some parts are priceless! If you want to do a great play with a small ensemble, this is the one (together with the ever-present and also quite marvellous Look Back in Anger, of course)

Delaney wrote this little masterpiece when she was only 18 years old, thus putting her among the ranks of Jane Auten and the like--though Delaney far surpases the young Austen in readability and emotional power.Any fans of Morrissey and The Smiths will find this work extremely interesting, as Moz has said in many interviews that at least 50% of his songs come from this work. Reading it, one can see exactly why Morrissey took such a liking to this play, it being a parallel (in many ways) to his own childhood landscape. As soon as I finished the last line of this play, I sighed, closed the book, opened it to the first page, and read it all over again. To sum up the profundity of this work I will use a quote that Morrissey used regarding Marr's guitar compositions: "you will cry for hours and hours and swim in the tears."

This is a wonderful, short play that I'm sure most can read in a short sitting. It's a highly entertaining, witty drama. Any fans of the band the Smiths will certainly snicker with glee when they find where Morrissey got some of his lines from...