'A Taste Of Honey' (Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre)

Despite dying of a cold, I managed to struggle along in the Manchester rain to see a 50th anniversary production of Shelagh Delaney's classic kitchen sink drama 'A Taste Of Honey'. Thanks to the 60s film starring the irrepressible Dora Bryan, and the young Rita Tushingham, this was a must-see play for Salfordians and Mancunians. Starring Coronation Street's Sally Lindsay as Helen (the mother-from-hell), and Jodie McNee as her much-troubled teen-age daughter Jo, this was a mixed bag of a production. The regular use of hit songs from the likes of Joy Division, The Smiths, and The Stone Roses was certainly enjoyable but added little to the atmosphere of a drama set in the late 1950s. The whole evening seemed more like a Manchester/Salford theme night, and jollied up what is actually a poignant and depressing piece of theatre. Many of Helen's bitter put-downs elicited a variety of chuckles and belly laughs rather than the twinges of disgust they were surely meant to invoke. WHY do audiences feel the need to laugh at ANYTHING even remotely 'amusing'???? Is it just me? Do people NEED to laugh all the bloody time? Yes, there ARE some nice one-liners, but nothing that would trouble Armando Iannucci for God's sake! Sheesh!!!!