How John Godber Plays Have Affected the Image of the North

Kingston upon Hull has been much maligned in the popular media as a city with the highest obesity and teenage pregnancy rates. The city also has been near the bottom for GCSE results for many years. I think it is safe say that Hull is a long way from being nominated for the city of culture award.

It is therefore remarkable that located behind a run down, unstable and dirty bus terminal lays a tiny theatre known all over the theatrical world. The theatre is the home of Hull Truck and the playwright that made this 300 capacity venue world famous goes by the name of John Godber.

Godber is the son of a miner who was brought up in West Yorkshire. He started his working life as a teacher of drama at a secondary school. In 1984 he became the artistic director for the Hull Truck Theatre based in Spring Street near the centre of Hull. The play that put John Godber and Hull Truck onto the theatrical map was ‘Bouncers’. In 1985 Bouncers was nominated for Comedy of the Year and won seven Los Angeles Critics' Circle Awards and five awards in Chicago in 1987.

It is somewhat unusual that Godber studied German expressionist theatre and yet has become the champion for the Northern English working class. In some ways John Godber is 'the voice of Hull' and, although it sounds strange, many people in the city would only go to the theatre to see his plays. If Godber puts on a production of 'Julius Caesar' or 'Moby Dick' at Hull Truck Theatre, there are empty seats. But if he produces one of his own plays, there is guaranteed to be a packed house. It is not only people from Hull who flood to see Godber plays, theatre-goers from all over the UK do too.

Godber is the third most performed playwright in Britain behind Alan Aykborn and William Shakespeare. He has been labeled the Shakespeare of the North by critics and fans. So as tourist choose Stradford Upon Avon (The Swan Theatre) or Scarborough (The Stephen Joseph Theatre) to discover more about their theatrical idols, so too do people flock to Hull Truck. In a year's time Hull Truck will be moving to a bigger and grander home in the centre of multi-million pound St. Stephen's Square development. This will enhance the company's position as one of Hull's foremost tourist attractions.

Over the last 25 years the nation’s view of the North has been largely defined by film, television and theatre offering false stereotypes of struggles with adversity, alcoholism, poverty and plucky underdogs who come out on top. The image is of a North still under the shadow of Thatcherist neglect where big-hearted losers battle on with pride.

This is evident in films such as ‘The Full Monty’, ‘Brassed Off’ and ‘Billy Elliot’(which has recently been turned into a West End stage show). Through the television in programmes such as ‘The Boys From the Black Stuff’, ‘Bread’ and arguably ‘Auf Wiedersehn Pet’. The offerings from writers such as Willy Russell, Alan Aykborn and Jim Cartwright help re-enforce these cultural ideas of the North.

These false and exaggerated images put forward as the life of the “Northerner” are taken at face value as the truth. Therefore the South would assume the North to be full of underprivileged people with a great sense of humor and strong survival instincts.

One could argue that