Influences of John Godber clearly displayed within the play.

First of all we are going to look at references to other works within the play Teechers.
Has anyone spotted any whilst reading the play? They are in Italics so are easy to
spot.
Plays
The Trojan Women- a Greek tragedy. A play written by Euripedes.
Ophelia- A character out of Hamlet who drowns in a stream.
Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth night, The Winters’ Tale, Hamlet, Macbeth-
Shakepearian Tragedies.
Marat-sade- A play incorporating Brecht and Artaud. Later made into a film about a
asylum where the lead character Marquis de sade directed performances with
inmates. His surname is the origin of the word sadism meaning pleasure felt from
hurting or humiliating people.
Operas.
The Mikado- A comic opera. The Pirates-(of penzance) A comic Opera.
Playwright.
Mr William Shakespeare- Most famous English Playwright.
Musicals.
West Side story- An American Musical- adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
The Rocky Horror Show- A science fiction musical about transvestites.
Guys and Dolls- An American Musical.
Movies.
Beverley Hills Cop- A series of films starring Eddie Murphy.
Indiana Jones- Jewel of the Nile. A series of films starring Harrison Ford.
Soaps.
Neighbours- An Australian Soap. Eastenders- A Cockney Soap.
Sporting Event.
1974 world cup final- Football final.
Media-related.
The Times ed- An educational supplement for teachers.
Novel.
Billy Liar- Billy Liar is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse, which was later adapted
into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series.
TV Personality/ Celebrity.
Jimmy Saville- Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, (31 October 1926 – 29 October
2011) was a disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for
his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the
long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops.
Musicians/bands.
Janice Ian- Janis Ian is songwriter, performer, and author with 9 Grammy
Nominations.
Dire Straits- A British Rock band.
Wham- Pop group with George Michael as the lead singer.
Historical figures.
Norman the conqueror- Gained victory in the battle of Hastings in 1066 and
became the king of England.
Peter the Great- the tzar of Russia- a well studied historical figure.
So, we have seen the different things that Godber refers to in his play. This leads us
onto studying a little into his background.
1. John Godber was a drama teacher who became head of drama at the school
he went to as a child.

2. He became unhappy with the educational system and stopped teaching after
6 years.

3. He became a playwright and has written over 50 plays.

4. He is the third most performed British playwright after Shakespeare and Alan
Ayckbourne.

5. He aims to represent the working class in his work.

6. He uses his own real life experiences to develop situations in his plays.

7. He has also written for television. Chalkface, Grange Hill, Brookside and
Crown Court.

8. His dramatic influences include, Brecht- we can see how he breaks the fourth
wall in Teechers with the actors addressing the audience. Also his political
voice apparent within the play could be said to relate to Brechtian techniques-
forum for political ideas to get the audience to think about a situation.

9. Dario Fo.- A theatre practitioner who uses theatre to criticise crime or political
corruption. In Teechers this could relate to the class divide and Godbers’ lack
of belief in the British Educational system, hence the references to differences
between the upper class school and the debate between Mr Nixon and Mr
Basford.

10. Stephen Berkoff type-mime. Stephen Berkoff is an actor/director who

concentrates on physical theatre. His work was mainly to do with heightened
body language, gestures and facial expressions which the three main
characters in Teechers do when they are impersonating teachers and other
school characters.