Backstage: Hull Truck’s Northern Soul

Part 4 of 5: Follow John Godber's vibrant Hull Truck Theatre Company, backstage and onstage, in their recent comedy On A Night Like This

John Godber has been one of the most consistently successful manager-playwrights of our time, devoting his talent and energy to the Hull Truck Theatre which has enhanced its own region and shone around the country visiting the National and RSC at various stages.

7 Dec 2000 marked the opening of John Godber's latest comedy; On A Night Like This. The comedy ran at the Hull Truck Theatre in preparation for a national tour. It tells the tale of a local Hull man in the midst of a mid-life crisis. With Christmas on the horizon, Rich Jackson decides to treat himself to a night on the tiles in Hull - with disastrous consequences. As the story is based on the night-life and social scene in Hull, the staging will also feature the sounds of Northern Soul. The play has been dubbed a cross between Under Milk Wood and Bouncers.

As well as watching John Godber direct this new work and documenting the process of staging this production, the film will focuses on his role as the theatre's creative director (a position he has held since 1984). A former teacher, he shot to prominence with the extraordinary Bouncers which was a nationwide favourite. Other highlights include a focus on the success story of the Hull Truck which ranks amongst The National and RSC as a company at the leading edge of contemporary theatre. Godber has made his name as an essentially comic writer who specialises in superb ensemble theatre; but, like Ayckbourn, he has a sharp eye for human weakness. Past successes at the Truck include; Bouncers, Shakers, On The Piste, The Office Party, Teechers, Perfect Pitch and many more.

This film also features Godber experiencing some of the local haunts his character, Rich Jackson, visits in the play.