Season 47 Play 7 – Happy Families by John Godber
Directed by
Cast
Dot – John’s Mother – Jackie Firth
Vic – John’s Father – Vincent Dore
Liz – John’s Grandmother – Barbara Cougan
Jack – John’s Grandfather – Donald Clough
Doris – John’s Mucky Aunt – Elisabeth Nott
Edna – John’s Posh Aunt – Janet Smith
Rebecca – John’s Genius Cousin – Lisa Armstrong
Lyn Sutton – Alison Wade
Synopsis
This is our first John Godber play. Full of warmth, understanding and humour ‘Happy Families’ paints an affectionate portrait of an ordinary family struggling with changing situations – and the generation gap. John, newly graduated, looks back over his teenage years. With him find out about his relatives from whom he has now grown away, but enjoy too this warm, humorous portrait of family life with your own private smiles of recognition.
Directors Notes
This play, commissioned by British Telecom for the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, was premiered simultaneously throughout Britain, by members of the Gulld, in October 1991. Bingley Little Theatre was not able to premier this play on the same week as other Guild Members because our play dates, booked two years in advance with the Arts Centre, did not coincide with the date, pre-determined by B.T., for this play to be premiered nationwide.
Now, four years later, and a re-write by the author, it has arrived at BLT. Our publicity stated ‘Our first John Godber play and I for one, have been very surprised by the number of people who have asked ’ Who’s John Godber ?’ Well to begin with he is a Yorkshireman born in Upton near Pontefract in 1956. He gained an M.A. in Drama at Bretton Hall College, Wakefield. After being Head of Drama at Minsthorpe High, the school he attended as a student, he was appointed Artistic Director of the now well known Hull Theatre Truck Company. He has won many awards for his plays which have been seen throughout the world; these include Up ‘N’ Under (Laurence Olivier award 1984), Bouncers, Teechers, Shakers, September In The Rain, On The Piste – shortly to be made into a film – and Passion Killers which has just been seen at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.
As to the play itself, ‘Happy Families’ is very auto-biographical. John, patently John Godber himself, on his graduation day looks back over his teenage years recalling the embarrassments, tensions, joys and sorrows of family life. He tells the story both as narrator and by portraying himself, at different ages, throughout the play which is full of warmth, understanding and humour.
On behalf of all who have had some part in presenting this play I hope you thoroughly enjoy it; particularly if it is your first ‘Godber experience” ,
