Hull Truck Theatre Company

“We’re unique…. Young…. Unrivalled…. Smashing!”

Salford 1959 – 17 year old Jo is desperate to break free from her vulgar, wayward and man hunting mother, Helen.

Resilient and feisty, Jo’s instinct for survival and happiness leads her to a taste of honey when she falls in love with Jimmy, a black Sailor on shore leave. Abandoned by her Mother and left to cope on her own, Jo’s courage is tested yet again when Jimmy returns to sea, and she discovers she’s pregnant.

Defiant in the face of convention, Jo moves in with her friend Geoffrey, a young art student, who assumes the role of surrogate father to her unborn child. As their relationship deepens, Jo discovers that her independent spirit is both her torment and her salvation.

One of the most influential plays of its generation, A Taste of Honey was written when Shelagh Delaney was only 18. It burst onto the stage in 1961 in a production that took the West End by storm. Part of the post war kitchen sink movement the play later became a classic of British cinema.

A Taste of Honey is Mark Babych’s debut production as Hull Truck Theatres new Artistic Director.