Hull Before Culture

Hull's big year is here: UK City of Culture 2017. But as well as ships, white phone boxes and renewable energy, there has been the odd bit of culture in Hull before now.

Playwright John Godber has been absorbing and interpreting the city's culture in his work at Hull Truck and in his plays for over thirty years. One of the most-performed playwrights in the English language, his work has travelled all over the world, but it is perhaps most fiercely loved by people in Hull: 'you're not proper 'ull if you 'ent seen 'Bouncers'.

John is well-placed to take a closer look at the city he's made his home in this series of conversations with the people who make culture happen in Hull. Hull is a sprawling sliver of a city, built along the banks of the Humber, so it makes sense to talk and drive, visiting key places in the cultural life of the place along the way. It's like carpool karaoke but without the karaoke, although there is a bit of singing.

John discovers why Hull is 'defensively self-deprecating' with a BS alarm which means that you can't get away with talking about things you don't really understand, why so many people would turn out to see shows in a freezing cold theatre where you got wet if it rained, how you reach audiences that see theatre as alien as the moon. And he finds a beating, passionate heart determined to keep on making culture in Hull even when the City of Culture circus has left town. Restlessly sharp, charismatic and funny, John is a breath of fresh air as a presenter.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull to explore the city's existing culture.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull to explore the city's culture.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull in the company of the artists, actors, musicians and writers who live and breathe the city's culture, to explore the challenges and liberations of creating art in a 'working class city'.

Hull's big year is here: UK City of Culture 2017. But as well as ships, white phone boxes and renewable energy, there has been the odd bit of culture in Hull before now.

Playwright John Godber has been absorbing and interpreting the city's culture in his work at Hull Truck and in his plays for over thirty years. One of the most-performed playwrights in the English language, his work has travelled all over the world, but it is perhaps most fiercely loved by people in Hull: 'you're not proper 'ull if you 'ent seen 'Bouncers'.

John is well-placed to take a closer look at the city he's made his home in this series of conversations with the people who make culture happen in Hull. Hull is a sprawling sliver of a city, built along the banks of the Humber, so it makes sense to talk and drive, visiting key places in the cultural life of the place along the way. It's like carpool karaoke but without the karaoke, although there is a bit of singing.

John discovers why Hull is 'defensively self-deprecating' with a BS alarm which means that you can't get away with talking about things you don't really understand, why so many people would turn out to see shows in a freezing cold theatre where you got wet if it rained, how you reach audiences that see theatre as alien as the moon. And he finds a beating, passionate heart determined to keep on making culture in Hull even when the City of Culture circus has left town. Restlessly sharp, charismatic and funny, John is a breath of fresh air as a presenter.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull to explore the city's existing culture.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull to explore the city's culture.

Playwright John Godber has been absorbing and interpreting the city's culture in his work at Hull Truck and in his plays for over thirty years. One of the most-performed playwrights in the English language, his work has travelled all over the world, but it is perhaps most fiercely loved by people in Hull: 'you're not proper 'ull if you 'ent seen 'Bouncers'.

John is well-placed to take a closer look at the city he's made his home in this series of conversations with the people who make culture happen in Hull. Hull is a sprawling sliver of a city, built along the banks of the Humber, so it makes sense to talk and drive, visiting key places in the cultural life of the place along the way. It's like carpool karaoke but without the karaoke, although there is a bit of singing.

John discovers why Hull is 'defensively self-deprecating' with a BS alarm which means that you can't get away with talking about things you don't really understand, compares 'results-based' funding in tough economic times with the continental model of subsidized arts; and compares tactics on how you reach audiences that see theatre as alien as the moon. And he finds a beating, passionate heart determined to keep on making culture in Hull even when the City of Culture circus has left town.

Restlessly sharp, charismatic and funny, John is a breath of fresh air as a presenter.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

John Godber meets the people who will keep Hull's cultural heart beating into the future.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull to explore the city's culture.

Playwright John Godber has been absorbing and interpreting the city's culture in his work at Hull Truck and in his plays for over thirty years. One of the most-performed playwrights in the English language, his work has travelled all over the world, but it is perhaps most fiercely loved by people in Hull: 'you're not proper 'ull if you 'ent seen 'Bouncers'.

John is well-placed to take a closer look at the city he's made his home in this series of conversations with the people who make culture happen in Hull. Hull is a sprawling sliver of a city, built along the banks of the Humber, so it makes sense to talk and drive, visiting key places in the cultural life of the place along the way. It's like carpool karaoke but without the karaoke, although there is a bit of singing.

John discovers why Hull is 'defensively self-deprecating' with a BS alarm which means that you can't get away with talking about things you don't really understand, compares 'results-based' funding in tough economic times with the continental model of subsidized arts; and compares tactics on how you reach audiences that see theatre as alien as the moon. And he finds a beating, passionate heart determined to keep on making culture in Hull even when the City of Culture circus has left town.

Restlessly sharp, charismatic and funny, John is a breath of fresh air as a presenter.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

John Godber meets the people who will keep Hull's cultural heart beating into the future.

Playwright John Godber takes a drive around Hull to explore the city's culture.