John Godber

Although known mainly for his innovative work in theatre - Bouncers, Teechers, Up n Under to name but three from the twenty-eight plays produced to date - John Godber has also written and directed a significant number of plays for television. His first break came at the age of twenty-three when Southern Television broadcast (live) Toys of Age, his entry in the 1979 National Student Drama Festival (NSDF). John Godber graduated from Bretton Hall College, Yorkshire, England in 1978 as a qualified teacher of drama and english and went on to an M.A. in Theatre at the University of Leeds. He then became head of drama at his old secondary school, Minsthorpe, and began to write, direct and act in a succession of increasingly successful productions at the NSDF and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 1984, at the age of 26, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Hull Truck Theatre Company: Up n Under being the first play specifically written for his new employer. It later won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Godber continues his long and highly productive relationship with Hull Truck, generally producing and directing the premier productions of his plays there. He plans to adapt another of his stage plays into a film, if *Up*n*Under* proves a commercial success.