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When you are reading A Taste of Honey, it is important to remember that it is not a novel but a play. You should keep in mind that it is a script which is meant to be performed live on stage, with actors playing the parts of the characters. There are several key factors you need to consider:

• What will the setting look like?
• What costumes will the characters be wearing?
• How will the actors speak and move around the stage?
• What props might be used?

Setting

Most of the action in A Taste of Honey takes place either in Jo and Helen’s flat or the street outside. At the beginning of the play Shelagh Delaney makes it clear from her stage instructions that the flat should be presented as shabby and rundown, The stage represents a comfortless flat in Manchester. However, the other details about the flat are conveyed through the dialogue, for example:

and,

During the course of the play, Delaney mentions several pieces of furniture contained within the flat such as a bed, a chair and a sofa. The lightbulb is a central prop as it allows the audience to notice Jo’s reaction to the fact that it is unshaded and the way she feels compelled to cover it with a scarf. However, other than this, little is written about the actual setting other than Delaney’s initial note about the flat being comfortless. A director of the play would need to look closely at the dialogue in order to gain a fuller impression of the flat and its surroundings.

The director of A Taste of Honey often has the final word on how his or her version of the play will be presented. Even though Shelagh Delaney wrote the actual dialogue, the way the playwright’s words are spoken can still change the audience’s understanding of a particular character. For example, some directors might decide to present Helen in a slightly more sympathetic way, whilst other directors might ask the actor playing Helen to be abrupt or rude when she speaks. In Act one Scene one when Jo complains of being cold, Helen suggests she drinks some whiskey in order to warm herself up. Jo insists she does not like the smell of whiskey to which Helen replies, “You don’t smell it, you drink it! It consoles ��dz�.” There are a number of ways this line could be said by the actor playing Helen and each one would reveal a different side to Helen’s personality:

• it could be said in an angry, impatient way as if Helen is tired of looking after Jo
• it could be said in a sarcastic way, revealing that Helen treats Jo more like an adult than as her vulnerable, cold daughter
• it could be said in a soft, soothing way, revealing a tender side to Helen

It is also important to consider the following when studying the dramatisation of A Taste of Honey:

• comedy
• realism and the use of music
• structure and time