A Taste of Honey

Act 1

Joan Plowright as Jo with Angela Lansbury as Helen in the Original Broadway production of A Taste of Honey

In the first scene, Helen and her teenage daughter; Jo, are moving into a shabby flat. Within a few minutes the audience learns that they have little money, living off Helen's immoral earnings - money given her by her lovers, although she is not a true prostitute, being more of a "good time girl". Helen is a regular drinker, and she and Jo have a confrontational and ambiguously interdependent relationship. As they settle in, Helen's surprise at some of Jo's drawings both suggests Jo's talent and originality and shows Helen's lack of interest in and knowledge about her daughter. Jo rejects the idea of going to an art school, blaming Helen for having interrupted her training all too often by moving her constantly from one school to another. Jo now only wants to leave school and earn her own money so that she can get away from Helen. After this conversation, Peter (Helen's younger boyfriend) comes in. Jo assumes that Helen has moved here to escape from him, but the audience is never told the reason why. Peter had not realised how old Helen was until he sees her daughter. Nonetheless he asks Helen to marry him, first half jokingly, then more or less in earnest.

In the next scene, Jo is walking home in the company of her black boyfriend. During a light-hearted, semi-serious dialogue, he asks her to marry him, and she agrees, although he is in the navy and will be away on his ship for six months before they can marry. He gives Jo a ring which she hangs round her neck under her clothes to hide it from Helen. Jo tells him that she is really leaving school and is going to start a part-time job in a pub.

Back at the flat, Helen informs Jo that she is going to marry Peter. Peter enters, and a dialogue ensues among the three: instead of only Jo and Helen attacking each other, a more complex pattern evolves, with Jo attacking the others, the others attacking Jo, and Helen attacking both Peter and Jo. Jo is truly upset at the thought of Helen marrying Peter, but also pesters and provokes him in an effort to antagonise him even more. After Helen and Peter leave her on her own for Christmas, Jo weeps and is consoled by her boyfriend. She invites him to stay over Christmas, although she has a feeling that she will never see him again.

The action moves to the occasion of Helen's wedding, the day after Christmas. Jo has a cold and will not be able to attend at the wedding. Since she is in her pyjamas, Helen catches a glimpse of the ring around her neck and learns the truth. She scolds Jo violently for thinking of marrying so young, one of her occasional bursts of real feeling and concern for her daughter. Asked by Jo about her real father, Helen explains that she had been married to a "Puritan" and that she had to look elsewhere for sexual pleasure. Thus she had her first sexual experience with Jo's father, a "not very bright man," a "bit retarded". She then hurries off to her wedding.

Act 2

Several months later, Jo is living alone in the same shabby flat. She works in a shoe shop by day and in a bar in the evenings to afford the rent. She is pregnant, and her boyfriend has not come back to her. She returns from a funfair to the flat in the company of Geof, an "effeminate" art student, who has possibly been thrown out from his former lodgings because his landlady suspected he was gay. Jo offends him with insensitive questions about his sexuality, and he in turn maliciously criticises her drawings. She apologises and asks him to stay, sleeping on the couch. Geof shows concern for Jo's problems, and they develop a friendly, joking relationship.

The audience next sees Jo irritable and depressed by her pregnancy, with Geof patiently consoling her. Then, seeking reassurance himself, he kisses her and asks her to marry him. Jo says that although she likes him she cannot marry him. She makes a sexual pass at him which he fails to recognize, confirming that "it is not marrying love between us". At this point, Helen enters. She has been contacted by Geof, who wishes to keep this fact secret from Jo. Jo, however, guesses as much and is angry with both Helen and Geof. Geof tries to interfere in the quarrel between the two women, but each time he is attacked by one or the other or both. As Helen is offering Jo money, Peter comes in, very drunk, and takes back the money and Helen's offer of a home to Jo. He leaves, insisting that Helen come with him; after a moment's hesitation she runs after him.

In the next scene, the baby is due any moment. Jo and Geof seem happy. He reassures her that Helen was probably mistaken about or exaggerating the mental deficiencies of Jo's father. Geof has bought a doll for Jo to practise handling the baby but Jo flings it to the ground because it is the wrong colour: Jo assumes that her baby will be as black as its father. Her momentary outburst against the baby, motherhood and womanhood is short-lived, however, and she and Geof are about to have tea when Helen enters with all her luggage. Apparently, she has been thrown out by Peter and now plans to stay with Jo. To get rid of Geof, she behaves rudely to him, while overwhelming Jo with advice and presents. Jo defends Geof, but while she is asleep, Geof decides to leave, since Helen is too strong for him and he does not want Jo to be pulled between them. Jo wakes, and Helen pretends that Geof is out doing the shopping. When she learns that the baby will be black, she loses her nerve and rushes out for a drink, even though Jo's labour pains have just begun. Alone, Jo happily hums a tune Geof sang before, still not having realised that he is gone.

Original cast and crew (1958, London)

• Helen – Avis Bunnage
• Josephine – Frances Cuka
• Peter – Nigel Davenport
• The Boy – Clifton Jones
• Geoffrey – Murray Melvin
• The Apex Jazz Trio – Johnny Wallbank (cornet), Barry Wright (guitar), Christopher Capon (double bass)
• Setting by John Bury
• Costumes by Una Collins

Original Broadway Cast (1960)

• Helen – Angela Lansbury
• Josephine – Joan Plowright
• Peter – Nigel Davenport
• The Boy – Billy Dee Williams
• Geoffrey – Andrew Ray

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Broadway Revival Cast (1981)

• Helen – Valerie French
• Josephine – Amanda Plummer
• Peter – John Carroll
• The Boy – Tom Wright
• Geoffrey – Keith Reddin

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Adaptation for Radio 3 Cast (2004)

• Helen – Siobhan Finneran
• Jo – Beth Squires
• Peter – Charles Lawson
• The Boy – Richard Mylan
• Geoffrey – Andrew Sheridan

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2006 – various theatres

• Helen – Samantha Giles
• Josephine – Samantha Robinson
• Peter – Andonis Anthony
• Jimmy- Chris Jack
• Geoffrey – Bruno Langley

2008 Royal Exchange Theatre, UK

• Helen – Sally Lindsay
• Josephine – Jodie McNee
• Peter – Paul Popplewell
• Jimmy – Marcel McCalla
• Geoffrey – Adam Gillen

2014 National Theatre

• Helen – Lesley Sharp
• Jo – Kate O'Flynn
• Jimmy – Eric Kofi Abrefa
• Peter – Dean Lennox Kelly
• Geoffrey – Harry Hepple

2018 Belvoir Theatre, Sydney

• Helen – Genevieve Lemon
• Jo – Taylor Ferguson
• Jimmy – Thuso Lekwape
• Peter – Josh McConville
• Geoffrey – Tom Anson Mesker