''Happy Families'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

written by

John Godber John Harry Godber (born 18 May 1956) is known mainly for observational comedies. The ''Plays and Players Yearbook'' of 1993 rated him the third most performed playwright in the UK after William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. He has been cre ...

in 1991. It is an autobiographical play set in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

and tells the story of a boy called John and his parents Vic and Dot. It tells of the stresses and strains of growing up with his family. It tells of how he grows up through his teenage years and through to when he gets his degree. Other characters within the play include Jack and Liz (John's grandparents), Doris and Edna (John's Aunties) and Rebecca (Edna's Daughter). It is a

memory play A memory play is a play in which a lead character narrates the events of the play, which are drawn from the character's memory. The term was coined by playwright Tennessee Williams, describing his work ''The Glass Menagerie''. In his production note ...

and the narrative jumps back and forth from when John was about 9 until when he graduates with a degree as a drama teacher. John Godber has described it as "humour with a touch of sadness". It takes its name from the card game of the same name -

Happy Families Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete fami ...

External links

The Official Website of John Godber
Plays about families 1991 plays Plays by John Godber Plays set in England {{1990s-play-stub