Dave Haslam and Melanie Williams join us to discuss A Taste of Honey (1958), Shelagh Delaney's first play, written and produced when the author was not yet 20 years old. To describe this as an expert panel would be an understatement: Dave Haslam is a former resident DJ at the legendary Haçienda club in Manchester and the author of Manchester, England: The Story of the Pop Cult City; Melanie Williams is a professor of film studies at UEA whose most recent book was the BFI monograph on the big screen adaptation of A Taste of Honey (1961). How did a Salford teenager change the face of British theatre? Nearly 70 years on, why do the play's themes and characters continue to resonate in the 21st century? And what did Shelagh Delaney do for an encore (and why do so few people know about it)? This show will open your eyes.

On 27th Oct 2025 Backlisted is recording a show at 92NY in New York, on William Maxwell at the New Yorker. Tickets are available now from https://www.92ny.org.

Books mentioned
Shelagh Delaney - A Taste of Honey; The Lion in Love; Sweetly Sings the Donkey
Dave Haslam - Manchester, England: The Story of the Pop Cult City; Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor: Music, Manchester, and More;
Melanie Williams - Female Stars of British Cinema; A Taste of Honey: BFI Film Classics

Other links
Charlie Bubbles (film)
The House That Jack Built (TV series)
The White Bus (short film)