DETERMINED to raise the theatrical bar again at Hull Truck, artistic director John Godber has turned to science fiction.

“I was looking for a good classic to do, thinking what could I do? So I read Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea again last year and got really excited about the potential,” he says.

“I think it’s never been done on stage before but there are 34 film versions, and the more I read it, I realised not only what a fantastic story it is, but also how relevant it is today in terms of the decisions we need to make for the future of the planet – particularly for marine life, which we’re very aware of here in Hull.

“Bringing it to life will be a real challenge, but we’re not afraid of that – we’ve done rugby, judo and skiing on stage. Now we’re going underwater with a giant squid.”

Written in 1869, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea follows the adventures of Professor Aronnax, his assistant Conseil and the whaler Ned Land. While searching for a huge sea monster, they unexpectedly come across the Nautilus, a secret submarine run by Captain Nemo, and what unfolds is a story of destruction on earth, war, financial ruin, a crazed maniac on the loose and a society on the brink of collapse. “As I read the book, I thought, ‘Crikey, Verne is so far ahead of his time in his prescience,” says John.

Setting about the task of adapting the novel, John undertook a vast amount of research into Verne, including a day trip from Hull to his home in Amiens. The next challenge was to make the story theatrical, which necessitated going further than merely setting the production in a French theatre in 1870. “When Verne was writing it, he was more concerned with expanding science fiction, so the book lacks various aspects of dramatic impact and is very episodic,” says John.

The dialogue needed sparking up too. “The language in the book is very flat: I’ve had to work from two of three very poor translations, like the American one, which is very Americanised,” he says.

John has made one significant change: “I’ve taken the liberty of making one of the characters a woman [Conseil, played by Heather Peace] because it’s a very masculine-orientated story with no women in the book. Now there’s a women to bring some romance to the story; so if you remember the character played by Peter Lorre, well, Peter Lorre is now a woman!”

Captain Nemo brought The Phantom Of The Opera to Godber’s mind. “He even plays the organ,” notes John. “Oh, did I mention our show is a musical? We’ve really gone for the big, gothic scale.

“It’s truly a musical with 14 songs by Stuart Briner, and though I don’t want to ‘diss’ myself, it’s a better story than my first play for the new Hull Truck [Funny Turns]. I think it’s one of the best things I’ve written, a very rich piece.”

The play chimes with our times, suggests John. “What’s fascinating is that here’s a true classic that could been written today, in that we know more about space than we do about the sea, which makes it the perfect play for Hull,” he says.

“And sooner or later, by not respecting the sea, it’s going to come up and surprise us. Whatever we have on dry land, ten feet into the sea, the rules mean nothing, as Nemo says.

“At our peril do we not take this matter seriously.”


• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea runs at Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, until June 19. Box office: 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk. Hull Truck has teamed up with Hull aquarium The Deep, where a 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea exhibition features a first edition of the book and old movie posters.