Teechers | Theatr Clwyd

The John Godber Company bring an energetic and sharply observed production of Teechers to Theatr Clwyd, with a fast-paced exploration of life inside a struggling comprehensive school, laced with humour and hard-hitting commentary on the effects of social equality in education. Although written back in 1984, it's not unsurprising that the themes raised are still relevant in today's climate, and the team at the John Godber Company have incorporated this into their most recent touring production, making this play accessible for modern audiences.

Salty, Gail and Hobby are three B.Tech drama students who decide to showcase their experience of school in an end of term production, discussing a teacher that inspired them to fall in love with the arts, Student Teacher Miss Nixon. Miss Nixon is losing her passion for teaching due to the pressures and lack of appreciation for the arts in the curriculum. However hard she fights to advocate for the students and the injustice in social equalities, she succumbs to seeking better teaching opportunities in the private teaching sector. Salty, Gail and Hobby create a play to convince Miss Nixon to keep teaching at Whitewall Academy and to demonstrate the impact that she has had on their school life.

Levi Payne, Jo Padmore and Sophie Suddaby complete the cast of this three-hander with an incredible ability to multi-role. What stands out in particular is how the trio introduce so many different teachers and pupils to the audience, and with the help of director Jane Thornton and Godber's writing, each character introduced feels fully fleshed out. The characters and the scenarios feel fully relatable as we are able to connect the characters to our own experiences of school, with a perfect mix of humour and reflection.

Payne potentially has the most difficult character transitions to contend with, bouncing between boisterous and over-confident Salty, to arrogant and intimidating Oggy Moxon, to the eccentric and flamboyant Mrs Parry. Payne's multi-roling is convincing as he really nails the different mannerisms, accents and facial expressions in a sudden manner. Suddaby truly nails the role as the enthusiastic and passionate Miss Nixon and gives such an authentic and eye-opening response to the pressures on the education system. Padmore leans into the comedic aspects of the characters, and particularly shines in the role of the school caretaker as well as giving great physicality during a heated discussion between Miss Nixon and another grumpy teacher, garnering a great reaction from the audience.

Graham Kirk's simple set design enables audiences to use their imagination with limited props to enable the fact paced commentary to unfold. Desks and chairs are adequately moved around the stage to suit the play-within-a-play style of theatre and enables the pace to never falter.

The production has been refreshed with the incorporation of references to social media use such as TikTok and other current references and trends, and chart-topping hits are played during transitions. However, if there's one criticism to be made, it's that occasionally the scene transitions happen so quickly that the music only plays very briefly, which jolts the flow of the piece. Additionally, whilst one can appreciate some of the periods of movement in the piece, such as the sequence where the teachers are trying to navigate the school halls, the random dance breaks sometimes come across quite tacky and unnecessary.

Regardless, the John Godber Company's production of Teechers is an accessible, thought-provoking social commentary on the education system. Although entertaining and comedic in its own right, with credits to the writing of John Godber and the fantastic performances from the cast all round, Teechers gives plenty of food for thought as the curtains go down.

Teechers plays at Theatr Clwyd until Saturday 28th March 2026 - tickets and more information can be found here.

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review