A Taste Of Honey DVD – John Harrison, Michael Bilton

Shelagh Delaney’s play ‘A Taste of Honey’ had already played in the West End and on Broadway when Tony Richardson made his film adaptation shot on location in Salford and Blackpool. Rita Tushingham made her indelible screen debut as Jo a young girl who falls pregnant after leaving home and her floozie of a mother – a revelatory performance by Dora Bryan. Jo befriends Geoff (Murray Melvin) a gentle kind-hearted gay man and they move in together like two children playing house for a while finding an innocent but fragile happiness. Richardson always skilled with actors draws fine performances from his entire cast and ‘A Taste of Honey’ remains an outstanding example of the British New Wave shot by its star cinematographer Walter Lassally.