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Sally Lindsay and Jodie McNee talk Honey

November 17, 2008

Sally Lindsay (pictured, right)and Jodie McNee are currently starring in the Royal Exchange Theatre’s revival of Shelagh Delaney’s classic kitchen-sink drama, A Taste Of Honey.

Delaney’s play, written when she was 19, and celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year, tells the story of downtrodden schoolgirl Jo (McNee) and her turbulent love-hate relationship with her headstrong mother, Helen (Lindsay.)  Jo Combes’ production makes use of classic Manchester sounds of the past half century, and also stars Adam Gillen, Marcel McCalla, and Paul Popplewell.

Manchester-born Lindsay is probably best known for her role as barmaid Shelly Unwin in Coronation Street. She has also starred in TV’s The Royle Family, Fat Friends, Phoenix Nights and BBC3 sketch comedy show Scallywagga. Her diverse stage CV includes Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, The Vagina Monologues, and, most recently, Boyka in the hit musical Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision.
Liverpool-born McNee has a diverse theatre CV, having played Antigone in The Burial At Thebes, Imogen in Cymbeline, and Isabella in The Changeling. On television, she starred as Mary in The Liverpool Nativity.

Matthew Nichols caught up with them both to talk about the play and their careers.

How is the play going?
SL - Really well. It’s quite a daunting prospect at the start! It’s such a well-known play, and such an amazing play. But we, as a cast, have really gelled together so it’s really coming into its own now.

A Taste Of Honey celebrates its 50th birthday this year. What can audiences expect from this landmark production?
JM - I think that there will be a lot of expectations, but I think that what we’re trying to do is get back to what it’s really about. I think the heart of the play is motherhood.

SL - It’s about love as well.  I think the relationship between Helen and Jo is central. It’s about how it should have been and why. It’s about how the relationship affects Jo, and how much it affects Jo, and about Helen not really knowing how she affects her own daughter. And even though, she’s (Jo) nothing like her mother, it starts to become cyclical.

Helen is famously described as a semi-whore. How are you approaching the character, Sally?
SL - Completely from my own vision of her. She’s described as a ‘semi-whore,’ but how I see her, is that she’ll get the odd quid off a bloke in a pub, and I don’t think she goes around sleeping with everyone. I think she has men, she has one man, and gets money for the rent, and she and Jo can live off that. Our Director, Jo (Combes) describes her as “absolute sunshine,” and when she’s around she’s hilarious, she’s the funniest bird in the pub, the sexiest bird in the pub, and they all love her. And she does give a little bit of that sunshine to Jo, but she saves it mostly for her men.

How are you finding exploring the unconventional domestic relationship between Geof (Adam Gillen) and Jo?
JM – It’s really interesting, that relationship, because they love each other so much, but it’s not the marrying kind of love.  Because he’s been trying to deny his sexuality in a way, and trying to conform to society, and to try and be accepted by his society, he feels trapped. And their relationship works for a little while, but it can’t work forever.

The play was written and conceived by women, and this production is being directed, again, by a woman. Do you think this makes a difference to this production?
JM – Yes, because we’ve talked a lot about what it meant to be a woman then. Take Geof, for example. He goes to art school.  He has opportunities to be free, and express himself. But, Jo doesn’t have opportunities to be free. Women got married, and that was that. We were talking in rehearsal about what women’s prospects are now…

SL – There is a world of opportunity today. But, you’ve got to try very, very hard to go and get it. Jodie and I both come from working class backgrounds. I went to university, and was the first person in my family to do that. It was a big deal, and we all had to scrabble together.

Sally, you’re from Manchester. How do you think the city has changed since the play was written?
SL – I think that heart of the city is still the same.  I think we’re all still very sarcastic, and we moan a lot, and we go on and on about the rain! Which is ridiculous, because that’s all it does here. But I think that the heart and the character of the city, and the outlook of the people is very much the same.

The transformation of the city, geographically, is beyond belief. Every day, when I used to drive into work, when I was in Corrie, another hotel would spring up, or there’d be another investment, and I think that gives you a lot of confidence in a city. And I love Manchester, because it just thinks it’s smart. And I think it did back then, too.

Jodie, you’ve done a lot of classical theatre. Is working on this sort of a play any different?
JM –Before I went to drama school, I didn’t know much about theatre at all. I used to do impressions when I was a kid on stage, in pubs.  So, I knew about being on stage, and I knew I wanted to be on stage, but the education I got at drama school taught me a lot more.

Sally, you recently starred as Boyka in Eurobeat: Eurovision. How was that experience?
SL – Slightly different!  Dressed as a giant turnip! When I went to the first day of rehearsal, I didn’t even know I had a song in it.  One night, I did a forward roll, and cut my lip, and the cast kept on carrying me round the stage for the song!  And I was laughing so hard, I couldn’t tell them off.

Any final thoughts on A Taste Of Honey?
JM -I’m really excited about this play. It’s a real opportunity for me to really invest in the character. Not that I didn’t invest before!  But I can use my background more in this one; when I read it, I understood it immediately.

SL – The language is so brilliant. You can’t believe that an eighteen year old girl wrote this; it’s an incredible achievement.  It’s one of the best plays I’ve ever read, and on so many levels.

A Taste Of Honey is currently at playing at the Royal Exchange until 6 December.

-Matthew Nichols

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