Opening with a startling bang, Shattered Globe's production of "A Taste of Honey" presents social issues of the 1950s that still are relevant today. When a neglectful, alcoholic mother (Linda Reiter's Helen) moves her outspoken daughter (Helen Sadler's Jo) into a questionable Manchester flophouse, it's easy to see the two merely tolerate each other while longing for a life away from their desperate situation. They soon get what they wish for, resulting in even more dire circumstances.
When the play was first produced in 1958, the 18-year old playwright Shelagh Delaney sought to confront overlooked social issues not being addressed among UK's working class. It must have been quite a mid-20th century eye-opener, throwing an interracial relationship, promiscuity, teen pregnancy, homosexual friendships, cohabitation and blatant alcoholism into one mix. The mother-daughter dynamic plays out like the mother-daughter relationship between Edina and Saffron from the 1990s "Absolutely Fabulous" series—only here both Helen and Jo directly address the audience when questioning each another's outlandishness.
Shattered Globe stages the play without a blemish. The British accents by all cast members hold true throughout, even being slightly incomprehensible at times, due to the use of Cockney slang (it helps that Ms. Sadler hails from Canterbury, England). Kevin Hagan's set direction turns a dilapidated rooming house into something quite cozy, lending authenticity through the use of antique set pieces. We gather that the world outside is less than stellar, and Christopher Kriz's sound direction, which includes the noises of the surrounding streets and the upbeat jazzy tunes of the period, establishes an ideal tone.
Ms. Reiter's turn as the gin-soaked, hardscrabble comedic mother helps to keep the show moving at a quick pace, and the emotive Kevin Viol (as Geoffrey, the caring gay art student who befriends the abandoned and pregnant Jo) is another standout.
The ending leaves a gaping, unanswered question: What could possibly happen next? We can only hope something good will come to this dysfunctional, bombastic clan.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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