A Taste of Honey is another hit for Shoestring at Stamford Arts Centre Theatre

After its sell-out run of Jack Absolute Flies Again last year, Shoestring is packing out the theatre once more.

The first night of A Taste of Honey, the ‘kitchen sink’ drama by Shelagh Delaney, played to a near-full Stamford Arts Centre - not a bad effort, for a Tuesday.

While the story was a return to Shoestring’s more typical play choices, heavier going than the genuinely funny Jack Absolute, moments of dark comedy prompted a few chuckles.

A Taste of Honey tells the tale of working class Salford schoolgirl, Jo, who becomes pregnant by a sailor when her drunken mother, Helen, goes off to live ‘the high life’ with the vulgar Peter.

The play was written by Delaney when she was still a teenager, and premiered on stage in 1958 before being turned into a 1961 film. While a huge achievement for a Salford-born girl who attended a secondary modern school, aspects of the script haven’t worn so well.

Jocelyn Needham has her work cut out with the role of Jo’s mother, putting in a solid and entertaining performance hampered only by Delaney’s writing, which makes the character seem overly antagonistic and, at times, downright irritating to watch.

There is a moment when Helen hints at abuse and loneliness in her own childhood, but this nod towards character depth arrives too late. The audience has probably already decided: Helen is irredeemably tiresome.

Sophie Johnston is highly watchable as Jo, encapsulating the highs and lows of ‘moody teenager’ and the complexities brought by a neglectful mother, sometimes seeming old before her time, sometimes a little girl hanging on to the irresponsibility of childhood.

Another of the younger cast members, Alex Molyneux, is terrific as Geoff, getting to express the full gamut of emotions: camaraderie with Jo, delight over the imminent arrival of her baby, and anger at himself and at Helen after inviting her back into her daughter’s life.

Geoff’s character though, like Helen’s, lacks back story, and that of a gay man living in working class Salford a decade before homosexuality was legalised is arguably more interesting than Jo’s.

Shoestring members have done their best with A Taste of Honey, and for an amateur production it’s high quality. Director Henry Sauntson should be proud.

Performances are nightly until Saturday (March 8) and those going along should take their seats 15 minutes early to fully appreciate the glamorous Ali Cooper Quartet jazz ensemble that throughout the night rubs shoulders on stage with the gritty goings on.

Tickets priced £12 with concessions £10 are available from tinyurl.com/TasteHoney2025.

Alternatively call the box office on 01780 763203.