Hobson’s Choice

Much like the play’s director James Claxton, I first encountered Harold Brighouse’s famous play in the classroom, studying for my English GCSE where it was one of the set texts. As always with material which one is forced to digest rather than enjoy as a personal discovery of one’s own, it left rather a dry and dusty taste in the mouth (as a completely pointless aside, that other schoolboy favourite, ‘Lord of the Flies’ wasn’t on our school reading list and I was fortunate enough to discover just about the greatest of all the novels written in the 20th Century for my own pleasure a year or two later, rather than have to read it for the purpose of examinations!) Having seen the play a few times since then, I have found that it is far from being the creaky, heavy handed old period piece you might expect and offers a peep into a bygone era, a humorous discussion of issues of gender, equality and class distinction and a chance for performers to really get to show their stuff in some of the meatiest and most enjoyable roles for the stage. This production was yet another example of the Hippodrome’s commitment to entertainments of quality and was yet another rewarding evening out at the theatre in Todmorden.

Henry Hobson’s boot shop in Salford is run with an iron will by his daughter, the fearsome Maggie, while Hobson himself fancies himself of something of a saloon bar philosopher and holds forth in The Moonrakers Inn on a daily basis. His other daughters, Alice and Vickey confirm more to the ‘bustles and beauty’ stereotype of young Victorian womanhood and lack Maggie’s business nous: but with master craftsman Willie Mossop’s skills at turning out footwear of quality on hand, coupled with Maggie’s eye for turning a sharp profit, business is booming. When the idea of marriage is thrown into the air, an interesting train of events is set in motion which leads Maggie to take the initiative and organise everything - and everybody - to the best advantage of all concerned, whether they like it or not! With a dash of ‘King Lear’ and a sprinkling of ‘Cinderella’ thrown in for good measure, this humorous take on Samuel Smiles’ ‘Self Help’ cleverly upends preconceived ideas of the role of women and of the limiting nature of the class system in Victorian Britain along with a number of other targets. 

Blustering nicely as Henry H Hobson, Patrick Smith brought a much gentler and easygoing air to his portrayal of the misguided patriarch than I’ve seen before, which was much appreciated. His easy humour on stage was pitched perfectly within the production and provided an excellent counterpoint with the steely determination of Maggie. Katrina Heath was every inch the no nonsense battler as Maggie Hobson, the Iron Lady of the world of boots and clogs, exuding clear sighted determination from every pore and forged ahead with all the unstoppable power of a locomotive. Cara Novotny and Ellie Spooner gave Alice and Vickey a nice touch of ‘uppishness’ in their own very different take on getting their own way too, which was a nice touch. 

Brendon Barclay gave Willie Mossop the definite air of being a rather slow witted boy trapped in a man’s body. The way he clomped about the stage in his clogs did a rather clever job of painting Willie as something of a Frankenstein’s monster - with Maggie being very much his creator, adding the Promethean fire to this ‘new man’. Brendon’s rather arch and ungainly way with painting the character worked well at suggesting a very real Willie Mossop. When we are faced with the other pair of suitors (rather than the sought, in Willie’s case) Hamish Heald did a good job as the effete and insipid Albert Prosser and Samuel Bell brought Freddie Beenstock to life with all the necessary beaming nonchalance required. 

The smaller roles were also drawn with care and precision. John Spooner provided an unexpected treat as Jim Heeler - another Moonrakers regular - with a naturalistic and humorous performance. Gilbert Gregory was the very image of Tubby Wadlow, running the ‘engine room’ of the workshop and providing the Victorian conscience for the rest of the characters to fight against, each in their own different ways. The unfortunate Ada Figgins was given short shrift by Maggie and her combination of flustered incomprehension and flighty indignant helplessness was nicely judged by Ginny Ratcliffe. Appearing on the scene like a Celtic whirlwind in Act Two, Richard Holley’s Dr MacFarlane exuded no nonsense Scottish straightforwardness and set in motion the ‘King Lear’ surge towards the play’s eventual resolution. 

As always, the Todmorden technical team came up trumps with a lovely set which packed in a lot to look at, while remaining practical and easy to work with. The problem of the troublesome shop door (it stubbornly refused to open on the evening I attended and left the cast trapped in the boot shop) was circumnavigated very well by the cast who all thought on their feet and dealt with it admirably: full marks there. Less fortunate was the amount of rather loud chatter from the chaps in the lighting and sound booth however, which caused quite a bit of disturbance and had the nearest third of the audience turning round with rather irritated faces to express their displeasure during the first act! Costumes, props and the whole ‘look’ of the production were of the high standard we have come to expect and gave the play a professional sheen.

Director James Claxton had obviously been inspired by the material at an early age and this carried forth into this production of ‘Hobson’s Choice’ as the balance of humour, social comment and an effective understanding of the more worthwhile themes of the piece was very well judged. For me, the performers bringing Hobson and Maggie to life lie the heart of the play and their interpretations here were refreshing and new. Patrick Smith brought a toned-down touch of the music hall to his Henry Hobson which was lovely; Katrina Heath imbued Maggie with a straightforward, clear eyed simplicity which would brook no argument, both as a performance of quality and as an effective character in the drama. Taken altogether, this was another masterclass from the team at Todmorden.

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