Archives - Hobson’s Choice

by Harold Brighouse

Directed by Beth Maxwell

Friday 27th February – Saturday 7th March 1998 in the Auditorium

First produced in 1916, Hobson’s Choice is a comedy as sharp and fresh as when it was written. Set in the 1880’s, it tells of the downfall of Henry Hobson, Bootmaker of Salford, a conceited and self-centred windbag, at the hands of his eldest daughter.

In dealing with the universal theme of New Woman rebelling against parental tyranny, it is in the same genre as some Ibsen and Shaw of the period, but in the guise of a traditional Lancashire comedy. It is a beautifully crafted play, with keenly observed relationships. It is both a period piece and a play for all time.