'It was how you responded to the music'

JEFFREY DAVIES chats to playwright and director John Godber as he tells us how a love of Northern Soul led to him writing comedy Do I Love You?, which opens at Bath Theatre Royal next week

- JEFFREY DAVIES

FROM the writer of comedy classics Bouncers, Teechers and Up 'N' Under, West Country audiences are invited to join twenty-somethings Sally, Nat and Kyle in playwright John Godber's hilarious comedy Do I Love You? as they develop a love for Northern Soul music, with a soundtrack packed with hits from Frank Wilson, Edwin Starr, Eloise Laws, Jimmy Radcliffe and many more.

What started as a college project has grown into a passion, but the steps are exhausting. Far beyond their home city of Hull, our aforementioned trio find excitement, purpose and the tribe they've been looking for, and now they can't get enough. From Brid Spa to Stoke, from Chesterfield to the Tower Ballroom, our young "soulies" are determined to keep the faith!

This is Northern Soul for a new generation, but with rising costs, unemployment and smalltown blues - has anything really changed? Is this England 1975 or 2025? The pubs are closing, hospitality has gone and strikes are everywhere. But when you're out on the floor...

Do I Love You?, which has now been touring for three years, comes from John Godber's own love of Northern Soul, his connection to it as a young man, and his interest in the scene today.

"Another little dramatic gem from the pen of John Godber," enthuses the British Theatre Guide. "Infectious and exhilarating", too. So what is awaiting audiences when this John Godber Company presentation takes to the stage in Bath next week?

"Well, it's a great night in the theatre. And a particularly good night if you're a Northern Soul fan and we know there are millions of them all around the place," playwright John Godber told me enthusiastically.