A PLAY within a play, pupils portraying a whole landscape of quirky and misguided characters, from terrifying teachers and hopeless classmates, all the way to the school caretaker – this, in a nutshell, is Teechers.

Blackeyed Theatre’s production of John Godber’s comedic masterpiece about life at a modern comprehensive will roll into Swindon Arts Centre on Saturday, January 24, with the promise of side-splitting laughs and unforgettable gags.

Seen through the eyes of, and performed by, three Year 11 students about to leave school – Salty, Gail and Hobby – the play looks back on their lives following the arrival of a new drama teacher, Mr Nixon.

Navigating the pitfalls of teaching in a tough school proves more difficult than he imagines, and the lure of jumping ship to find employment at a private school grows increasingly tempting.

The choice, ultimately, will be his.

“It’s all about these three kids who are assigned a new drama teacher and at first they’re not very sure about him,” said Lucy Benson-Brown, who plays the role of Gail.

“But as the year goes by, the teacher strikes a chord with them – although they take the mick out of him a lot. The children put on this play that looks back on their year to convince him not to leave.”

A challenging show for its cast, the three-hander will see Lucy and her co-stars, Jake Addley and Brad Clapson, masquerade as half a dozen characters, each with distinctive mannerisms and personality traits.

This is a task the trio have approached in a surprising way, finding inspiration in the celebrity world.

“We decided that we weren’t going to start putting on different accents. It’s lazy way of doing it. It’s all about physicality and voice. The easiest way is trying to find someone you think they’re quite like – a celebrity or someone in the public eye and find that trait you can use.

Despite hilarious impersonations and clever observations of life at a comprehensive, Teechers is a barely veiled reflection on state-funded education versus private schooling, the “haves” and “have-nots”.

“The characters are very comical but underneath there is a serious theme and message,” added the 27-year-old Manchester School of Theatre graduate.

“You have these teachers who want to teach in private school but comprehensives are where they’re really needed.

“Teachers make an impact, then they leave. But the kids don’t move out of that system. The play looks at that in quite a tongue-in-cheek way.”

Marion Sauvebois