The John Godber Theatre Company and East Riding Theatre present the award winning playwright’s, production of Shafted!
This extra special production will also see Godber perform on the theatre’s intimate stage with his wife Jane Thornton for the first time in 23 years.
Shafted! depicts the relationship of a married couple during the 1984 miners’ strike, the media circus that unfolded and the trials and tribulations of married life 30 years on.
Suddenly they were thrown together, with new battles to fight, and new jobs to hold down; from window cleaning in Wakefield to running a boarding house in Bridlington; but life would never be the same again!
Fuelled with eye watering honesty and true Yorkshire grit, Shafted! is an hilarious account of those whose jobs had been taken, and communities destroyed, and how they fought back. The pits may have gone but the shifts are still seismic.
John Godber and Jane Thornton’s previous work together includes the Olivier Award nominated April In Paris, BBC Radio 4 Classic Theatre, September in the Rain, and Happy Jack and the Laurence Olivier Award winning comedy Up N Under!
Godber’s career began as Head of Drama at Minsthorpe High School in Pontefract and went on to writing for TV series such as Channel 4’s Brookside and the BBC’s Grangehill. His theatre show ‘Bouncers’ has gained international recognition and earned two BAFTA awards for the BBC programme Odd Squad.
Well-known in Yorkshire for his artistic director position at Hull Truck Theatre, John Godber is now also an ambassador of East Riding Theatre in Beverley, offering support during its initial inception, continuing to develop and grow.
As an audience member of the inaugural adaptation of A Christmas Carol in December, he was eager to write to new play to perform alongside Jane on the intimate stage, of the renovated chapel in Beverley.
Sue Kirkman, Theatre Director of East Riding Theatre says:
‘This is major coup for the theatre and a huge honour to have one of its ambassadors playing to our audience.’
‘Shafted! is another example of the quality we are showing at ERT. We wanted to set the bar high to ensure the theatre’s supporting audience would witness the best, live performances in East Yorkshire.”
Shafted! will run from Saturday 25 April 2015 to 10 May 2015. Tickets from £14 – to book please visitwww.eastridingtheatre.co.uk or call 01482 874050.
