Teechers
Theatre Royal Windsor
Until Sat 7th Mar 2026
Something of a cross between the gritty school corridors of Grange Hill and the theatrical chaos of Noises Off, Teechers is the enduring school comedy by John Godber, now adapted by Godber himself for a post-covid audience. The play thrives on theatrical ingenuity: a small cast conjuring up an entire school community through quick changes, physical comedy and sheer imaginative energy.
With just three performers – Levi Payne as the rebellious Salty, Sophie Suddaby as the enthusiastic Hobby and Jo Patmore as the quietly perceptive Gail – the production creates a whole cast of teachers, pupils, bullies and bureaucrats. The three students act as narrators of their own story, recreating for their Performing Arts BTEC, their final year at the fictional Whitewall School, a comprehensive somewhere on the outskirts of Hull that has been officially labelled as “requires improvement”.
Into this environment arrives the well-meaning drama teacher Miss Nixon, whose enthusiasm for creativity and self-expression quickly collides with the realities of an overstretched high school. Her drama class moves from science lab to hallway to canteen, with no home of its own. Her story, and that of her pupils, comments on the failing education system while capturing something very recognisable about school life: the boredom, the rebellion, the humour and the occasional teacher who genuinely tries to make a difference.
Much of the evening’s success rests on the versatility of the cast, who between them populate the entire world of Whitewall School with impressive clarity and comic timing. Levi Payne proves particularly adept at broad comic turns, none more memorable than his incarnation of the formidable Mrs Parry, the teacher directing the school’s chaotic production of Bugsy Malone. At one despairing moment she laments that the potential cast simply lacks talent and that she may have to ask a single pupil to play both Tallulah and Fat Sam, a line delivered with perfect deadpan frustration.
Sophie Suddaby brings warmth and credibility to the idealistic Miss Nixon in the play-within-the-play, capturing both her optimism and the quiet pull of something easier when she encounters the calm and well-resourced world of St George’s, the local private school with its swimming pool and two theatres.
Yet the performance that lingered most for me was Jo Patmore, whose transformations are consistently striking. As the intimidating school bully Olly Moxon, she radiates menace, while her timid religious studies teacher made me smile. Most impressive of all is her brief turn as the school janitor, whom she embodies so completely – through posture, movement and voice – that the transformation is almost startling, drawing an audible gasp from the audience.
Under the direction of Jane Thornton, the production moves at a lively pace. A constant flow of props and well-timed dance breaks allow the actors to glide from classroom to staff room and from one lesson to another. Desks, chairs and a handful of everyday objects transform fluidly as the performers leap between characters and locations.
Yet for all the hilarity and inventive energy, the ending lands with a surprising emotional weight. Miss Nixon’s decision to leave Whitewall School for the more “soothing” surroundings of St George’s feels quietly devastating for the pupils she inspired. Her idealism proves no match for the realities of the system, and the status of the arts in a struggling comprehensive. Beneath the comedy, Teechers reminds us that even the most enthusiastic teachers cannot always stay where they are most needed.
Teechers is playing at Theatre Royal Windsor until 7th March
Reviewer: Klara Kallis