By Grace Hatchell
Now then, a nightclub with toasted crumpets has already earned itself a second look from me. Add a coming-of-age drama about two young Northern women, and this particular delivery is going straight to the top of the postbag.
Hull Truck Theatre has announced SPIDERS, a new play written by and starring Martha Godber, which runs in the Godber Studio from Thursday 28 January to Saturday 13 February 2027. Tickets are on sale now.
Inspired by Hull’s much-loved alternative nightclub of the same name, the production follows teenagers Meg and Gabi, two friends with big plans for their future and a standing Saturday-night appointment at Spiders.
There, among sticky floors, Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters and those aforementioned crumpets, their friendship plays out through loyalty, love, fear and heartbreak.
I’m not entirely sure a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster would improve my ability to sort the morning post, but it certainly sounds like something you’d remember ordering.
Directed by Hull Truck Theatre’s Associate Director, Tom Saunders, SPIDERS explores friendship and coercive control against the backdrop of a place woven into Hull’s nightlife. The theatre describes it as a frank, gritty and explosive drama, so there’s more waiting here than a nostalgic shuffle through somebody’s favourite club playlist.
At its heart are two young women working out who they are, what they want and how their relationship fits into all of that. When you’re young, a friendship can feel like your entire world. That gives a playwright plenty to explore when the ground starts shifting beneath it.
Martha Godber plays Meg, bringing a story inspired by her home city to a Hull stage. Born and bred in Hull, she trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and founded The Godber Theatre Foundation.
Her solo show Jesse North is Broken premiered at York Theatre Royal earlier this year before heading to the Pleasance at the Edinburgh Fringe, where it received multiple five-star reviews. SPIDERS is her debut play and was first presented as a rehearsed reading at London’s Bush Theatre in 2024.
For Martha, the nightclub’s distinctive character and her own memorable nights there helped inspire the piece. She describes presenting the production in her home city as a full-circle moment, with her Northern roots profoundly informing her writing.
She also wants to celebrate young Northern women in all their humour, messiness and complexity.
Aye, give them room to be complicated. Nobody I’ve ever met has fitted neatly onto a delivery label.
Joining Martha is Chloe McDonald as Gabi. Belfast-born Chloe also trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, with theatre credits including An Unprecedented Birth at Hull Truck Theatre, This Is The Life and Do I Love You? with the John Godber Company, and Lights on/Lights Off at Shakespeare North Playhouse.
Together, they’ll bring Meg and Gabi’s friendship into the intimate Godber Studio, where this will be Hull Truck Theatre’s first contemporary drama production in the space since 2019.
Saunders has spoken about the theatre’s commitment to championing new writers, particularly those telling stories with a strong local connection. SPIDERS brings both together, with a Hull writer placing a familiar city landmark at the centre of her drama.
And the real Spiders has a history of its own.
Established in 1979 on Cleveland Street, the alternative music venue has been run by the same people since it opened. Its creative, affordable drinks menu, relaxed approach to dress and varied music have helped make it a distinctive part of the city.
There’s something rather lovely about a place becoming part of people’s personal histories. Somewhere that holds the songs, friendships and nights they still talk about years later. For Meg and Gabi, it provides the setting for a story that reaches beyond the dance floor.
The production’s creative team also includes Hull-based Caitlin Clark as lighting designer and Danni Skerrit as sound designer.
If you know Spiders, there may be plenty here that rings a bell. If you’ve never crossed its threshold, the friendship at the centre of the play offers another way in.
I’ll admit the crumpets caught my attention first. But it’s Meg and Gabi, and what happens between them, that make this a delivery worth opening.
SPIDERS runs at the Godber Studio, Hull Truck Theatre, from Thursday 28 January to Saturday 13 February 2027.
Tickets cost £15, with £2 off for concessions. The production is also included in the theatre’s Drama Deal, offering savings of up to 25%.
Relaxed and BSL performances are available, alongside selected 2pm matinees and 9pm late-night performances. The recommended age is 14 and over.
For tickets and performance details, visit Hull Truck Theatre’s website or call the box office on 01482 323638.
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