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Courtesy of Virago Theater Company

Courtesy of Virago Theater Company

February 2012

Honey Available for Tasting at Thick House

Jim Van Buskirk

Virago Theatre Company’s artistic director and founding member Laura Lundy-Paine is excited to be bringing Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey to the Thick House. The play marks Virago’s first foray to Potrero Hill since the Alameda-based company was founded in 2005. “A shameless passion for theatre” is the tag line of the company, which prides itself on selecting “works that address issues of psychological and social turbulence and have a unique perspective on our daily existence.”

That’s a good description of A Taste of Honey, Delaney’s first and most famous play. Written when she was 18, it premiered in London in 1958. Delaney adapted it into an award-winning 1961 film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Rita Tushingham.

The play tells the story of seventeen-year old Jo and her mother, Helen. Leaving Jo alone in their working class flat Helen pursues a relationship with a rich, younger lover. Jo then becomes romantically entangled with a black sailor, who proposes marriage, but then goes to sea, leaving Jo pregnant and alone. The tenacious Jo navigates romance, heartbreak, and poverty, never losing her sense of humor and optimism. Addressing issues of class, race, gender and sexual orientation in mid-twentieth century Britain, the play became known as a “kitchen sink” play, part of the genre that revolutionized British theatre and film, spawning John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and John Braine’s Room at the Top.

The upcoming production could be considered a tribute to its playwright, who died on November 20, 2011. But that’s not the primary reason for the performance. As a young actress Lundy-Paine auditioned for the role of Jo in Portland, Oregon. Though she wasn’t cast, she saw the production, and fell in love with Delaney’s darkly comic play. “It begs to be produced,” Lundy-Paine proclaimed, extolling the “very lean language of an untraditional love story, which despite its tragedy is very humorous…the dialogue begs to be performed in the dialect of Salford, in northwestern England, where the action takes place.” Rebecca Castelli served as a dialect coach for the performance.

Starring as Jo is Lundy-Paine’s daughter Brigette Lundy-Paine, who encouraged her mother to invite others to read for the part. But Laura Lundy-Paine felt she had the best possible Jo right in front of her. Michaela Greeley, who immediately had great chemistry with Brigette, was cast as Helen. The men in their lives are played by David Bicha, Brian Martin and Daniel Redmond.

Although the play is set in 1958, this production advances it to 1962,

primarily because Lundy-Paine preferred that period’s look. Julie Gillespie has designed an “exciting, abstract set,” and the costuming possibilities of “the pre-Kennedy assassination period of Mad Men” appealed to Lundy-Paine. “Besides, the play is timeless,” she rationalized. “It’s an unflinchingly honest story about real people. There’s nothing sentimental. Its conflicts are still relevant, especially in this time when many people are struggling.”

A Taste of Honey previews on February 3, opens February 4 with a champagne reception, and plays through February 25 at Thick House, 1695 18th Street. On February 10 the cast and director will be available to chat with the audience after the show; February 25 will include a closing night wine and cheese reception. For tickets and information: 510.865.6237; www.viragotheatre.org.

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