A Taste of Honey at the Oldham Coliseum
Dora Bryan at the Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Friday 21 April 2006 was the first night of a new production of ‘A Taste of Honey’ at the Oldham Coliseum, directed by Stuart Wood, starring Samantha Giles and Samantha Robinson. It’s not often you get to see ‘the play of the film’, or more exactly, the play from which the film was adapted, especially a film as illustrious as this one.
‘A Taste of Honey’, directed by Tony Richardson, and starring Dora Bryan and Rita Tushingham, was made in Stockport, Salford, Manchester and Blackpool in 1961. It was an immediate success and is recognised as a British film classic.
It was groundbreaking for many reasons, but it holds a key position in the media history of Manchester and the north west, as it was the first of only a small number of films to made there, using the urban landscape as an authentic backdrop. It provides us with a precious glimpse of how the local area looked and felt in the late fifties and early sixties.
The story was strangely prophetic, giving a foretaste of decades to follow, when traditional family values would be challenged, and previously outcast minority groups would move centre stage.
This new production of ‘A Taste of Honey’ uses the original script by Shelagh Delaney, from which the screenplay was adapted. There are many differences between the two, and yet the characters and situations are basically the same. For those who love the film, the play provides an alternative ‘Taste of Honey’ which measures up well to the screen version.
The opening night was made extra special by the presence of Dora Bryan, who had travelled from Brighton with husband Bill Lawton, at the invitation of the Coliseum Theatre. She gave the play a personal standing ovation. The audience response was very good indeed, with long and enthusiastic applause.
Both before and after the performance I spent a long time chatting to Dora Bryan. She spoke about her childhood in the Garden Suburb district of Oldham, and how she came to act in the film. Director Tony Richardson contacted her, saying he wanted her to play the mother in his latest film. “I told him I wouldn’t be available for a while, but he said ‘I’ll wait for you’, and the next thing I knew I was in Salford making the film”.
Surprisingly she had not seen ‘A Taste of Honey’ until two weeks ago. “At the premiere we couldn’t really watch the film properly as we were so worried about how we looked”, she said.
For her performance in ‘A Taste of Honey’, Dora Bryan received the British Academy Award for Best Actress.
I would definitely recommend going to see the play, which is on at the Coliseum Theatre until 13 May 2006. More info at www.coliseum.org.uk.
And of course, for anyone from or with connections to the Manchester area, the film ‘A Taste of Honey’ is compulsory viewing. The DVD has a special section on the background to the making of the film.
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