ONE of the most influential plays of its generation, and a subsequent cinema classic, arrives in Malvern later this month.

A Taste of Honey, which provides a touching tale of a young girl’s journey into adulthood, will be at the Festival Theatre for a five-night run from Tuesday, June 17 through to Saturday, June 21.

Best known for her roles in Shameless and Waterloo Road, actress Rebecca Ryan will be bringing to life the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney’s much loved tale which is set in Salford in 1959.

The play follows 17-year-old Jo who is desperate to break free from her wayward mother, Helen.

Jo’s instinct for survival and pursuit of happiness leads her to fall in love with Jimmy, a sailor on shore leave. Abandoned by her mother, Jo’s courage is tested yet again when Jimmy returns to sea, and she discovers she’s pregnant.

Defiant in the face of convention, Jo moves in with her friend Geoffrey, a young art student, who assumes the role of surrogate father to her unborn child. As their relationship deepens, Jo discovers that her independent spirit is both her torment and her salvation.

The play was written when Shelagh Delaney was only 18 and it burst onto the stage in 1961 in a production that took the West End by storm. Rita Tushingham was in the lead role when it later became a classic of British cinema.

Also appearing will be Vicki McDonald from the BBC show Waterloo Road and others in the cast are Julie Riley, Christopher Hancock, Lekan Lawal and James Weaver.

This production will be Hull Truck Theatre’s artistic director Mark Babych’s debut production for the Malvern theatre and it is being co-produced with Derby Theatre.