Kingsley Players present Hobson’s Choice

Award-winning Kingsley Players return to the stage to present Harold Brighouse’s classic Lancashire comedy ‘Hobson’s Choice’, set in 1880s Salford.

Widower Henry Hobson is a successful bootmaker and a tyrannical father of three daughters, who all want to leave him to get married.

Strong-willed Maggie leads her two sisters in their clever battle of wills to gain independence.

Lesley Silcock, a familiar face in front of the curtain, makes her directorial debut with this much-loved period classic.

She said: “Hobson’s Choice has always been one of my favourite plays.

“Its intriguing story is full of wry humour, with brilliant characters whose direct, forthright language highlight a number of life lessons which are still pertinent today.

“The play’s title has become synonymous with a choice which offers no choice.

“Apparently the saying dates back to a 16th century Cambridge livery stable owner Thomas Hobson, who noticed his fastest horses were also the most popular, while the others lay idle.

“To make best use of his stable, he resolved to give his customers only the illusion of choice – take it or leave it!”

First staged in 1915, the play has been a favourite with theatre audiences for more than a century, as well as being adapted for film several times, most famously in 1954, with Charles Laughton in the title role. 

Treading the boards in the Kingsley Players version are Mike Kelsall, as Henry Hobson, Jen Deakin as Maggie, Catrin Jones and Rebecca Lowe as her two sisters and Chris Doyle as Willie Mossop, supported by Jo Oultram, Malcolm Barker, Jake Powell, George James, Murray Milligan and Keith Boswell.

‘Hobson’s Choice’ will play for four performances at Kingsley Theatre in Kingsley Community Centre, from Wednesday, October 26 to Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £10, with £7 tickets available for students/children.

These can be booked online at kingsleyplayers.co.uk or by ringing the box office on 07724 892154.