Gemma Dobson

A Taste of Honey is a gritty depiction of working class life in post-war Britain and an exhilarating portrayal of the vulnerabilities and strengths of the female spirit in a deprived and restless world. Shelagh Delaney’s taboo-breaking play, written when she was just 19, was later adapted into a BAFTA award-winning film. When her mother Helen runs off with a car salesman, feisty teenager Jo takes up with Jimmie, a sailor who promises to marry her, before he heads for the seas. Art student Geof moves in and assumes the role of surrogate parent until, misguidedly, he sends for Helen and their unconventional setup unravels.

Jenny, a single mother raising two daughters after her husband leaves, is aided by her widowed mother, Mary. But Jenny struggles to stay afloat after Mary suffers a devastating stroke and develops dementia.

In The Club follows six pregnant women and their partners as they get ready for the arrival of their babies at the local parenting class. Housewife Diane, schoolgirl Rosie, newlywed Jasmin, businesswoman Roanna, midwife Vicky and writer and teaching assistant Kim all have their own issues to deal with.

Considérée comme une immigrante ordinaire, Catherine de Médicis, alors adolescente orpheline, est mariée à la cour française du XVIe siècle pour apporter une fortune en dot et produire de nombreux héritiers. Mais elle va rapidement découvrir que son mari est amoureux d’une femme plus âgée, que sa dot n’est pas payée et qu’elle est dans l’impossibilité de concevoir un enfant. Pourtant, ne comptant que sur son intelligence et sa détermination, elle parvient à maintenir son mariage à flot et à maîtriser, mieux que quiconque, le sport sanguinaire qu’est la monarchie durant 50 ans.