Theatre: Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste Of Honey at Oldham Coliseum ft. Gemma Dobson

Shelagh Delaney’s now classic (but back in 1958, when it was written, groundbreaking and sensational) kitchen-sink drama A Taste Of Honey sees relative newcomer Gemma Dobson step into the Rita Tushingham role of Jo in this new production by Oldham Coliseum Theatre. Having only made her stage debut earlier this year, it could be a tricky ask, but as that was in the infamous reinstated run of Andrea Dunbar’s Rita, Sue and Bob Too at the Royal Court in London, she’s as suitably prepped as any to take on this gritty play. Scrabbling to get away from her domineering, alcoholic mother (played by ITV’s Where The Heart Is actress Kerrie Taylor), teenager Jo ends up spiralling more towards turning into a younger version of her, as she suddenly faces life as a single mum in Salford. It’s a great script (and a Morrissey favourite) by Britain’s first female working-class playwright, penned when she was only 18 and tackling at the time touchy subjects such as abortion, homosexuality and race-relations. So, great already, but with the Coliseum’s acclaimed Associate Director Chris Lawson at the helm, expect this version to take on a newfound energy and a new relevance in the 21st century.

Fri 25 May – Sat 9 Jun (not Sun or Mon), Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Fairbottom Street, Oldham, OL1 3SW, Tel: 0161 624 2829, 7.30pm (and selected days 2.30pm), £16-23, www.coliseum.org.uk