Bouncers at Shakespeare North Playhouse
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
This February, the John Godber Company will transport audiences back to the ‘80s for an iconic production of the classic play, Bouncers. This new production, at Shakespeare North Playhouse offers a trip back to the heyday of nightclubs; the glorious highs when disco was king, and everyone lived for the weekend.
Told through the eyes of the ever-watching doormen Les, Raph, Judd and Lucky Eric, the show dramatises the goings-on of one night in a Yorkshire disco. A hilarious parody of Saturday Night Fever, all of the familiar characters feature in this modern classic: the girls, the boys, the DJ, those who don’t get in and the local fish and chip van.
Perfectly capturing the sense of excitement, possibility, danger and romance, the play has become an international sensation, gathering awards from around the world. Colourful, frenetic and highly physical – with a pumping ‘80s soundtrack – Bouncers is packed with jaw-achingly funny moments, and is as striking now as it ever was.
Written by John Godber, Bouncers originally premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival back in 1977 and is still one of the most performed plays in the UK today. Named as one of The National Theatre’s ‘Plays of the Century’, Bouncers offers an outrageous, and hugely entertaining, celebration of the Northern nightlife scene.
