AS Lord Mountararat informs us in Iolanthe: “When Wellington thrashed Napoleon Bonaparte, As every child can tell, The House of Peers throughout the war, Did nothing in particular, And did it very well.” Those last two lines could well be applied to the sterling work done in this play by three actors, Jo Patmore, Sophie Suddaby and Levi Payne, as, with a minimum of costume and accent change, they moved seamlessly through 20 different characters.

The question is how important and relevant to a modern audience is the main theme that runs through this updated version of John Godber’s 1987 play?

Certainly as far as the author, his director and wife, Jane Thornton, and producer-daughter Elizabeth are concerned, the lack of investment and commitment to the subject of drama, arts and music in state schools, compared to the private sector, is something to be ashamed of.

And the opportunity to put these matters right afforded by a new government is one that must not be missed. As an ex-school master, Godber has first-hand knowledge of the importance of the arts in education, and the way in which knowledge of these subjects can help open the door for working class pupils to enter, what he considers to be one of the most difficult industries to break into, cannot be overemphasised.

Getting that message across to a 2026 audience, without it sounding like a politician preaching and trying to score points off the opposition, poses great problems for the director and actors. On a virtually bare stage, just three chairs and tables, plus minor props, which the actors manoeuvre into place, with no fanciful lighting effects, the play settles into a rather predictable pattern.

Woven into the text are some excellent comedy lines which the acting trio were all too willing, and very welcomingly, brought to the fore.

John Gadber’s passion for drama, art and music – and belief in their importance – has not diminished one iota over the past 40 years. Few people will disagree with him that funding and commitment to the arts in education has diminished rather than improved during that time.

Well as this play was acted and presented, you have to question whether or not it still has enough to say to convince, as Godber would have it do, a modern audience that they should support a movement to put a spur to government’s rear end to place support for drama, art and music in state schools higher up the agenda.

GRP

Photographs © Hull Truck Company