A lesson in drama as Teechers makes a welcome return

In 2003 Hannah Chissick was 26 and had just been appointed – landing the job when she was only 25 – artistic director of Harrogate Theatre

It made her the youngest ever person appointed to the role of artistic director of a building and the fact that she was a woman running a theatre building in an industry that, certainly at the time, was an industry dominated by male Oxbridge graduates, only made her story all the more remarkable.

She set off at quite a pace. First, she brought Art, one of the major successes of British theatre in recent years to the stage at Harrogate. The piece featured Les Dennis in one of his early serious theatre roles and was a critical success. She followed that up with a production of Teechers, an even bigger success.

The John Godber comedy, set in a school, is a play within a play which sees pupils put on a production of a show – and the audience get to see the piece coming together. It was an early indication that, although she was young, Chissick was made of the right stuff. After leaving Harrogate in 2007, she continued to prove herself and has since directed all over the world.

“People ask me if I would run a building again and I never say never, but for now I love the freelance director life,” she says. “One week I can be in Australia and the next in Singapore. I might be directing a one-man show for a studio and then the next week a main stage production that will play to 3,000 people a night.”

This month she is at the lower end of that scale, but with a production that means much to her.

She is in charge of re-staging Teechers, the Godber classic that gave her a major hit. “When we staged it in Harrogate it went really well – we were invited to take it to Poland, for some reason. It has been a piece of work that has always been very special to me.”

She is back in charge of a new production which will premiere at Wakefield Theatre Royal next week and is a co-production between the theatre and John Godber’s company. It is quite a compliment that Godber has trusted Chissick with one of his most important pieces.

“It’s really flattering. He came to see the production when it was on in Harrogate and was really kind about it,” says Chissick.

“We share a really similar ethos about what theatre should be and what it can be. When I was studying at Hull University John was in charge of Hull Truck Theatre and he said something that has always stuck with me – that he wanted to make classical theatre popular and popular theatre classical. We both want to make theatre entertaining.”

Chissick began her career at Derby Theatre, a trainee with a Channel 4 sponsored scheme which put young talent into British theatres. Shortly after that she landed the job in Harrogate.

The last few years have been quite a journey and Chissick says she is delighted to return to Yorkshire, where her career really began.

The production in Wakefield next week will bear more than a passing resemblance to the production seen in Harrogate almost a decade ago.

But if it is anything like the last production in Harrogate, audiences can expect a show that at times feels like a school disco – in the very best way.

Teechers, Wakefield Theatre Royal, Sept 11 to 14. Tickets 01924 211311. www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk.