It may be 100 years since it was first performed but Hobson’s Choice at Milton Keynes Theatre this week doesn’t put a foot wrong!
Photograph by Nobby Clark
So what choice is Henry Hobson offered? The option of taking what is offered – or nothing at all!
Harold Brighouse’s classic comedy, Hobson’s Choice, is celebrating its centenary in 2016 but its appeal is as great as it was 100 years ago. It’s full of laughter, wit and warmth.
Henry Horatio Hobson (played by Martin Shaw) is a self-made man – but he’s also a skinflint, a boozer and a tyrant to boot. When his eldest daughter makes it clear that she wants to marry – if not for love then certainly for her own determined purposes – a battle of wills commences that rocks the status quo.
The situation isn’t helped by the fact that the man she has chosen to spend the rest of her life with is her own father’s employee and the pair of them plan to set up a rival business. Henry stands to lose much more than just the argument but can he bring himself to loosen the reins on his daughter or will he risk bankruptcy? He’s struggling with the prospect of either but ultimately, it is Hobson’s choice. He can take it or leave it.
Directed by Jonathan Church, who has recently been appointed Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company, the production comes out of the prestigious Theatre Royal Bath stable and stars Martin Shaw (Inspector George Gently, Judge John Deed and The Professionals).
Photograph by Nobby Clark
Catch this one before it transfers to the West End!
Hobson’s Choice is at Milton Keynes Theatre from 7th – 12th March (matinees on Wednesday & Saturday)
Box Office: 0844 871 7652 or online: atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
