Morrissey loved her, hell there wouldn’t have been The Smiths without Delaney. Her impact on British theatre is still felt today. Her influence can be seen in Jeanette Winterson, Caryl Churchill and many more. She opened the doors not just for female playwrights but those playwrights who were young, northern and talking in words that weren’t often found in the West End. Shelagh Delaney’s impact on me was great, I still teach her, I still think that A Taste of Honey is one the greatest, forward thinking plays of the whole of the twentieth century. The film is passable. It may have overshadowed the rest of her writing career but if you’re going to be overshadowed by something let it be something great.
However, tonight I was appalled at how local television (BBC) reported her death, a mere twenty-second mention, instead they spent a good ten minutes on how sad they all where to leave New Broadcasting House (I worked there and know that no one is sad to leave that building). I cannot believe that the BBC couldn’t even be bothered to mentioned where Delaney was from as they are now moving from Oxford Road to Salford, Delaney’s patch. So, rather than spend this blog post moaning about the decline of good journalism I want to share a little of Delaney with you, she was bloody marvellous.
Andrew Oldham's Boneyard 