A Taste of Honey
Shelagh Delaney · 1958 · Paper 2 Section A
Context
Written in 1958 by 18-year-old Shelagh Delaney, the play is a landmark of the 'kitchen sink' realism movement. Set in the working-class terraces of Salford, it broke theatrical taboos by centring an interracial relationship, a gay character, and teenage pregnancy on a mainstream stage. Delaney wrote it after watching a Rattigan play and deciding she could do better — and she did, giving voice to communities and experiences that 1950s theatre largely ignored.