Hobson's Choice

Synopsis

Salford 1880. Hobson is a cobbler aiming to marry off his two youngest daughters. Maggie, his eldest at 30, is already an old maid - so she can stay at home and look after him! But Maggie has other ideas and finds herself a husband - and with him they open a rival shoe shop! First produced in 1916.

Our Review:

3 August 2007

It seems strange, given Hobson's Choice position as a stalwart of amateur dramatic societies, how relatively few professional revivals of this play there are. It appears from time to time, but most people will know Harold Brighouse’s 1915 comedy, if they know it all, from the 1950s Charles Laughton film.

In some ways, it’s a piece ahead of its time: its depiction of the rise of a business-driven middle class and the entrepreneurial aspirations of Maggie and Willie Mossop would not have been out of place in the 1980s, let alone the 1880s. It’s also unusual to see such a strong female character as Maggie, a driving force in business and a determined wooer, written at a time when women hadn’t yet got the vote.

What struck me in watching Hobson's Choice afresh here is the strong resemblance to its exact contemporary: what we’re seeing is a version of Pygmalion with the sexes reversed. There’s none of the cynicism of Shaw and littl...

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Latest User Review

Gabriella Altini - 16 January 2010:

Thank-you Judith Irving, just what I needed to know. You are superb Judith Irving-Thanks so much! ...

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