John Harry Godber (born 18 May 1956) is an English playwright, 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 ( 23 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. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen ...

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

Early life and education

Godber was born in Upton, West Riding of Yorkshire. He trained as a teacher of drama at

Bretton Hall College Bretton Hall College of Education was a higher education college in West Bretton in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It opened as a teacher training college in 1949 with awards from the University of Leeds. The college merged with the Uni ...

, which was affiliated to the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, and became artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre Company in 1984.

Career

Before venturing into plays, he was head of drama at Prince Henry’s grammar school where he had attended as a student, and then wrote for the TV series ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...

'' and ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

''. 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 fo ...

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

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

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

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

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

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 Liverpool Hope University (abbreviated LHU) is a public university with campuses in Liverpool, England. ‌The university grew out of three Normal school#United Kingdom, teacher training colleges: Saint Katharine's College (originally Warring ...

. He has also been professor of drama at

Hull University The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. In 2011, Godber became creative director at Theatre Royal Wakefield and set up the John Godber Company as its resident company.

Style

Godber's earlier style utilises an interest in

German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

, 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 Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter. Life and career Firth was born in Frodsham, England. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to King's ...

Personal life

Godber is married to the writer and actress Jane Thornton, also known as Jane Clifford and Jane Godber.

Legacy

Godber is a Patron of the Second Chance Headway centre’s charity in Wakefield. The theatre facility at

New College, Pontefract New College is a coeducational, sixth form college in Pontefract in West Yorkshire, England. It acquired academy status in 2017, forming a trust to open colleges in other areas, called the New Collaborative Learning Trust. At its Ofsted inspecti ...

, 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) *''Putting On The Ritz'' (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 Happy families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on profession, occupation types. The object of the game, which is simi ...

'' (1991) *''April in Paris'' (1992) *''The Office Party'' (1992) *''Passion Killers'' (1994) *''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'' (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 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'' (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) *''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may inclu ...

'' (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) *''Sunny Side Up'' (2021) *''Living on Fresh Air'' (2023) *''Do I Love You'' (2023) *''The Highwayman'' (2024)

Filmography

*''

'' (1978) TV series *'' Toys of Age'' (1979) TV *''

'' (1982) TV series *'' The Rainbow Coloured Disco Dancer'' (1983) TV *''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'' (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 Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

'' (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 * Pl ...

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 Academics of the University of Leeds