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Information About

John Godber




Often said to be the third most performed playwright in the world after Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn.

He was born in Upton, West Yorkshire , trained as a teacher of drama at Bretton Hall College, and became artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre Company in 1984 . His plays have won numerous awards. The son of a miner, before venturing into plays, he was head of drama at Minsthorpe High School, the school that he attended as a student and later wrote for TV series Brookside and Grange Hill . Whilst at Minsthorpe he taught future actor Adrian Hood (Preston Front. Up n Under film)

Godber was a guest lecturer at Bretton Hall College, University of Leeds near Wakefield West Yorkshire. Leeds University closed the Bretton Hall Campus in July 2007.

It had been attended by the likes of Colin Welland, David Rapaport, Kay Mellor, Mark Thomas, Andy Dunn and Richard Ridings amongst the many other major contributors to the Arts, since its opening by Sir Alec Clegg in 1947.

In 2004 he was made Professor of Popular Theatre at Liverpool Hope University.

His earlier style utilises an interest in German Expressionism, an economic and physical style inspired by this and the inspiration of Bretton Hall Head of School (Drama) the late John Hodgson. His later and more naturalistic style reflects Godber's 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.


PLAYS

His plays, up to 2005, are:
  • A Clockwork Orange (1976, Adaptation)

  • Bouncers (1977)

  • Toys of Age (1979)

  • Cramp (1981)

  • Cry Wolf (1981) First professional production.

  • E.P.A. (Educational Priority Area) (1982)

  • Happy Jack (1982)

  • Young Hearts Run Free (1983)

  • Bouncers(for Yorkshire actors) (1983)

  • September in the Rain (1983)

  • Up N Under (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 - 1990's Remix (1991)

  • Happy Families (1991)

  • April in Paris (1992)

  • The Office Party (1992)

  • Passion Killers (1994)

  • Dracula (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)

  • Unleashed (1998)

  • Thick as a Brick (1999)

  • Big Trouble in the Little Bedroom (1999)

  • Seasons in the Sun (2000)

  • Our House (2001)

  • Departures (2001)

  • Moby Dick (2002 Adaptation)

  • Young Hearts (2002)

  • Men of the World (2002)

  • Reunion (2002)



EXTERNAL LINKS