John Harold Godber (born May 1956) is an Englishplaywright, known mainly for his innovative theatre and observational 'comedies with an edge'. He was born in Upton, near Pontefract, Yorkshire, the son of a miner. He trained as a teacher of drama at Bretton Hall College and became artistic director of Hull Truck Theatre Company in 1984. 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). 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) 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.
John Godber John Godber is a popular and prolific playwright. In 1993, the year he turned thirty-seven, a Plays and Players survey cited him as the third most performed playwright in the United Kingdom, after William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. In his career of... more
