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 and Alan Ayckbourn. 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, which was affiliated to the University of Leeds, and became artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre Company in 1984.

Career

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. While he was at Minsthorpe he taught future actors Adrian Hood (Preston Front, Up 'n' Under film) and Chris Walker (Doctors, Coronation Street). 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 for Oddsquad, written and directed on location in Hull 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, 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, 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.

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, a college near his birthplace, is named the John Godber Theatre. It opened in 2012.

Filmography