Teechers Leavers ‘22 by John Godber
Directed by Adrian McDougall
Hilarious, high energy and full blooded, Teechers Leavers ‘22 brings to life an array of terrifying teachers and hopeless pupils through the eyes of Salty, Gail and Hobby; three Year 11 students facing a scary world, armed only with imagination and a joy of theatre.
It’s 2022 at Whitewall, a struggling academy that’s failed its Ofsted. The bell’s gone and they can’t afford a new one. The first fifteen have lost sixty-seven nil and the playing field needs levelling up. Sadly, Whitewall’s led by donkeys. So’s Whitehall, come to that. Enter Miss Nixon, a new drama teacher with fire in her belly, a lesson for the elite and a well ‘sick’ Tik Tok!
Will Miss Nixon abandon her students for a soothing private school? Who puts the bounce in Miss Prime, the PE teacher? Will Mrs Parry ever find her Koko? And why does everyone smell of spring onions?
Unplug, switch off and buckle up for the world premiere tour of Teechers Leavers ‘22, John Godber’s breath-taking, breakneck comedy about education for the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ and a generation left behind.
John Godber, writer said: “This refashioned version of Teechers Leavers ’22 tries to take into account the embattled nature of state education during and post Covid 19. It still retains its comic elements, but I think the play is stronger, if darker, as it describes a school system which pushes arts subjects to the fringes. I had thought that social divisions might have grown closer in the thirty odd years since I first wrote the play: unfortunately, from what I hear and see, the divisions are wider and the marginalisation of drama in the curriculum in state education is still advancing strongly. I’m very excited that Blackeyed Theatre Company will have the opportunity to present this highly physical depiction of state education in their new production.”
Performance Times
Thursday 23 March 2023 – 7:30pm
Friday 24 March 2023 – 7:30pm
Recommended for age 11+. Contains strong language.
Running time: Approx 110 minutes (plus interval)
-
- Ciara Morris as Gail
-
- Michael Ayiotis as Salty
-
- Terenia Barlow as Hobby
Reviews
“One of the most innovative, audacious companies working in contemporary English Theatre” – The Stage
“Teechers Leavers 22 hits home not only with the same laughter and punchy theatricality as the original but also with the same political rage” – The Guardian
“The revised version is better than the original – it’s less cosy, less anecdotal and offers a more courageous polemic. It’s the kind of work Truck and Godber became famous for: edgy, observational, political, funny and tragic, uplifting and hard-hitting” – British Theatre Guide
About Blackeyed Theatre
Blackeyed Theatre is one of the UK’s leading touring theatre companies, with over eighteen years’ experience of bringing exciting, high quality work to over a hundred towns and cities across the UK, from Eastbourne to Dundee.
blackeyedtheatre.co.uk / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube
