大象传媒

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.