John Godber: "I simply write what I see"

John Godber, one of the UK’s most-performed living playwrights, revisits his classic school comedy Teechers with a newly updated 2026 tour. Sharper, fresher and more relevant than ever, ‘Teechers: New Year, Same Problems’ heads our way 9 - 12 Feb.

We caught up with John for a chat about what to expect from this new take on his classic masterpiece.

Teechers has been a fixture of British theatre for nearly forty years. What made now the right moment to revisit and update the play for a 2026 audience?

I'd addressed some changes in the state education system after the pandemic for the production at Hull Truck a couple of years ago, but whilst in discussion with some local teachers, I realised things had changed again.

I was also aware that drama, art and music in schools generally has a lower status now than it did when I went into teaching in '78. I was also mindful of the potential for the Labour government to address this anomaly - I guess only time will tell if they put the arts back into the centre of the curriculum! Having trained as a Drama specialist teacher at Bretton Hall College in the '70’s I believe The Arts are central to the development of young people, no matter what their backgrounds are.

When you first wrote Teechers, the education system and the pressures on teachers and students looked very different. What feels most urgent or relevant about those themes today?

It’s rather sad to report the pressures I felt as a probationary teacher - and then eventually as the Head of a Drama department of four - were nothing compared to the pressures teachers are under today.

From my understanding, having spoken at length to recently qualified teachers who have opted out of the profession, the level of burn out is higher now than it's ever been.

What can audiences expect when booking tickets for the show?

It's always dangerous to mend something that isn't broken, but I felt that in order to make the play feel more relevant to today's audiences, especially young audiences, it deserved a re-boot.

It was influential director theatre director Peter Brook who said, "theatre that stands above fashion is dead theatre", and fashion has certainly changed in the last forty years!

Teechers famously uses just three actors to create an entire school community. Why do you think this playful, imaginative style still connects so powerfully with audiences?

Muti-role playing has become far more popular and widespread than it was when I wrote first Bouncers in 1981, and Shakers with Jane, and of course, Teechers! It's purely theatrical and allows the audience to enter into a playful role with the actors. It also facilitates a virtuoso style which has more to do with Commedia D’Arte than the traditional well-made play.

It looks easy on the face of it, but it's an exquisite skill that not many actors can achieve without falling into adult pantomime, which has always made me feel uneasy.

The 2026 tour visits a wide range of venues across the UK. What does touring mean to you, particularly when taking a play like Teechers into communities beyond major cities?

I've been touring my plays since I started running Hull Truck Theatre in '84, so I have a pretty good take on the various areas of the country and how they respond to my work. I've always said touring really gives you a sense of what we're like as a nation. One region, which may only be several miles from another, might be completely different in terms of response to the play and no matter how long you tour, each night is a unique experience.

It's this which makes it endlessly fascinating.

Education and access have long been important themes in your writing. How does Teechers speak to issues of opportunity, class and social mobility in Britain today?

I’m not an educational specialist, I simply write what I see. But as far as I can make out, the differences between the haves and the have not doesn't seem to be getting closer, it seems to be getter further apart.

If there's one major change in this new version, the drama teacher leaves the state system to work in the private system. In the earlier iteration of the play, it wasn't so cut and dried. Sadly, given where we are with the status of The Arts in state education, I can fully understand why a drama teacher might be seduced by a school that respects her subject.

Unpalatable perhaps, but dramatic, yes!

What do you hope audiences - whether they’re teachers, students or former pupils - leave the theatre thinking or talking about after seeing Teechers in 2026?

I’m a real believer that an audience gives themselves to the theatrical experience, as long as they believe it to be true and authentic.

If we can create the notion of unfairness in the face of naive enthusiasm from Salty, Gail and Hobby, we'll have done our job. As for what the audience may take away from the theatre - well, even after doing this for over forty years, I'm always surprised...

Teechers will be at the SJT from 9-12 February, with tickets from £10. Book online here, or by calling Box Office on 01723 370 541.