I have been a fan of John Godber OBE since I first saw Bouncers and knew from his dialogue that we both had similar working-class upbringings, so when I was asked if I wanted to interview John before the only London run of his play Teechers Leavers ’22, I jumped at the chance, writes Michael Holland.
Born in West Yorkshire to a miner father and dinner-lady mother, perhaps nothing much was expected of John, but at one of the new comprehensive schools where the arts was mandatory he found himself under the tutelage of a forward-thinking drama teacher: ‘At the age of twelve we did Marat/Sade and The Dumb Waiter!’ John had found something he loved.
His teacher had trained at Bretton Hall College, an arts-based teaching training college near Wakefield, so, naturally, John also wanted to train there too, even though he had won a place at Central School of Speech and Drama to train as an actor. ‘I acted in school plays and at College and Leeds University, where I later read for an MA and a PHD but drama in schools had been so important to me that I wanted to pass on the baton.’
‘Compulsory arts was the mastermind of Sir Alec Clegg, Wakefield’s Chief Education officer,’ says John, ‘who was also instrumental in creating Bretton Hall where I trained as a drama teacher: Sir Ken Robinson, Kay Mellor and Oscar winner Colin Welland all went there.’
John says, ‘I am first and foremost a playwright and director, and will only act in my own work’ before revealing, ‘I was offered Mark Addy’s part in The Full Monty film, but turned it down and recommended Mark for it, who I have known since he was 19.’
Early influences were the writer Barry Hines and in particular his work on Ken Loach’s Kes. While studying for his PhD he says, ‘I became very familiar with Brecht and other German playwrights… I loved Berkoff’s early work too when I was at university.’
These days, John declares his influences are life and politics: ‘I’m lucky enough to have a family who are all sharp social observers and theatre makers so we are in constant conversation about the state of the nation and in particular the theatre we are making.’
Having been first drawn to John Godber’s plays because I could relate to them, there was a certain style about them that also attracted: small casts who would play multi-roles, minimal sets and actors who had the skills and energy to work like that. He tells me that this style came about while he was with Hull Truck Theatre: ‘It was a physicality which came from my interest in sport, and training; but there was also an economic imperative too since at that time Hull Truck were quite poorly funded so we had to make work that was economic otherwise the company would have collapsed.’
Teechers Leavers ’22 is an update of an earlier play. I asked why he has given it a new life for these troubled times: ‘I return to my early work sometimes to keep them fresh and current, and of course because I can. My career took off when I was relatively young so I have a body of work which I have become well known for which I sometimes like to refresh to keep them in relevant.’
This rewrite has come about since John heard that some students were without computers or iPads and were writing essays on their phones. ‘This digital poverty is very extensive in many of our schools, so when the opportunity came to rewrite Teechers for Hull Truck I decided to incorporate many of the problems which are in schools today, and I wanted to sharpen the argument for drama in school, which is being watered down and is not a core subject. The Government’s insistence of maths being taught to age eighteen was another example of a lack of understanding of what a fully comprehensive education should be.’
It was obvious John’s heart is very much in the right place. He and wife Jane ‘established a foundation to help support drama students from Hull and East Riding who are studying in drama schools and universities.’ And he is strongly against any form of private education for the wealthy as it creates ‘deep inequalities in the state system’.
But before politics changed the mood too much, John Godber OBE divulges he is ‘looking forward to start working on DO I LOVE YOU, my long awaited play about Northern Soul of which I have been a fan since 1972. Keep the faith!’
We will indeed.
Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London, SE10 8ES from 27th – 29th April. Times: 7.30pm, Saturday matinee 2.30pm. Admission: £18.50, £16.
Booking: www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk
