JOHN GODBER, PLAYWRIGHT, Hull Truck Theatre

John Harry Godber (born 18 May 1956) is known mainly for observational comedies. The ''Plays and Players Yearbook'' of 1993 rated him the third most performed playwright in the UK after

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director o ...

. He has been creative director of the Theatre Royal Wakefield since 2011.

Biography

Godber, born in

Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridg ...

, West Riding of Yorkshire, trained as a teacher of drama at Bretton Hall College, which is affiliated to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, and became artistic director of

Hull Truck Theatre Company Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

in 1984. Before venturing into plays, he was head of drama at Minsthorpe High School, the school he had attended as a student, and then wrote for the TV series '' Brookside'' and ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running program ...

''. While he was at Minsthorpe he taught future actors Adrian Hood (''Preston Front'', ''

Up 'n' Under ''Up 'n' Under'' is a comedy by English playwright John Godber, first staged at the Hull Truck Theatre in 1984. It won The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy that same year. The sequel, ''Up 'n' Under II'', followed in 1985. Plot It f ...

'' film) and Chris Walker (''Doctors'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

''). A 1993 survey for ''Plays and Players'' magazine cited Godber as the third most performed playwright in the UK, after Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. In 2005 he won two

British Academy Children's Awards The British Academy Children's Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). They have been awarded annually since 1996, before which time they were a part of the main British Aca ...

for ''Oddsquad'', written and directed on location in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

and screened by BBC children's television. His plays are performed across the world, ''Bouncers'' (1977) being the most popular. In 2004 he became a visiting professor of Popular Theatre at Liverpool Hope University. He has also been professor of drama at Hull University. In 2011 John Godber became creative director at Theatre Royal Wakefield and set up the John Godber Company as its resident company. Godber's earlier style utilises an interest in

German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

, an economic and physical style inspired by this and the inspiration of Bretton Hall Head of School (Drama) John Hodgson. His later and more naturalistic style reflects his growth as a member of the middle classes and an Ayckbournesque world of drama. He says that the "new Godber" is perhaps a writer like Tim Firth. Godber is married to the writer and actress Jane Thornton, also known as Jane Clifford and Jane Godber. The theatre facility at New College, Pontefract, a college near his birthplace, is named the John Godber Theatre. It opened in 2012.

Bibliography

*''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'' (1976, adaptation) *''Bouncers'' (1977) *''Toys of Age'' (1979) *''Cramp'' (1982) *''Cry Wolf'' (1981) first professional production *''Guyonal Priority Area'' (1982) *''Happy Jack'' (1982) *''September in the Rain'' (1983) *''Young Hearts Run Free'' (1983) *''Bouncers (for Yorkshire actors)'' (1983) *''

'' (1984) *''A Christmas Carol'' (1984) adaptation *''Shakers'' (1985) co-written with Jane Thornton *''Up 'n' Under II'' (1985) *''Blood, Sweat and Tears'' (1986) *''Cramp – the Musical'' (1986) *'' Teechers'' (1987) *''Oliver Twist'' (1987) adaptation *''Salt of the Earth'' (1988) *''On the Piste'' (1990) *''Everyday Heroes'' (1990) *''Shakers Re-stirred'' (1991) *''Bouncers – 1990s Remix'' (1991) *'' Happy Families'' (1991) *''April in Paris'' (1992) *''The Office Party'' (1992) *''Passion Killers'' (1994) *''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

'' (1995) adaptation *''Lucky Sods (1995) *''Shakers the Musical'' (1996) *''Gym and Tonic'' (1996) *''Weekend Breaks'' (1997) *''It Started with a Kiss'' (1997) *''Hooray for Hollywood'' (1998) *''The Weed'' (1998) *''Perfect Pitch'' (1998) *''Ella Chapman'' (1998) *''Thick as a Brick'' (1999) *''Big Trouble in the Little Bedroom'' (1999) *''Seasons in the Sun'' (2000) *''On a Night Like This'' (2000) *''Our House'' (2001) *''Departures'' (2001) *''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'' (2002) adaptation *''Young Hearts'' (2002) *''Men of the World'' (2002) *''Reunion'' (2002) *''Going Dutch'' (2005) *''Unleashed'' (2006) *''The Crown Prince'' (2007) *''Next Best Thing'' (2007) *''Sold'' (2007) *''Our House'' (2008) *''Funny Turns'' (2009) *''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-J ...

'' (2010) adaptation *''The Debt Collectors'' (2011) *''The Sculptor's Surprise'' (2011) schools tour, co-written with Jane Thornton *''Lost and Found'' (2012) co-written with Jane Thornton *''Losing The Plot'' (2013) *''Muddy Cows'' (2013) *'' A Kind of Loving'' (2013) adaptation *''Shafted'' (2015) *''Scary Bikers'' (2018) *''This is Not Right'' (2019)

Filmography

*''

'' (1978) TV series *'' Toys of Age'' (1979) TV *'' Brookside'' (1982) TV series *'' The Rainbow Coloured Disco Dancer'' (1983) TV *''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and W ...

'' (1983) TV *'' The Ritz'' (1987) TV series *'' My Kingdom for a Horse'' (1991) TV series *''Chalkface'' (1991) TV series *''

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a millenarian restorationist Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the United States in the 1780s. They were initially ...

'' (1993) TV *'' Bloomin' Marvellous'' (1997) TV series *''

'' (1998) *'' Bouncers!'' (2000) TV *''Thunder Road'' (2001) TV *'' Portas, Os'' (2005) TV *'' Make that happy'' (1997) TV

References

External links

John Godber official website
*
''Times'' Interview with Godber. ''Trade Secrets''. 16 December 2006
Accessed 15 April 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Godber, John Academics of Liverpool Hope University Alumni of Bretton Hall College

Plays by John Godber Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

English dramatists and playwrights English theatre directors Laurence Olivier Award winners Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Upton, West Yorkshire 1956 births Living people English male dramatists and playwrights