The play starts with the ringing of the school bell, or course. What will we learn today?

It is absolutely true to say Teechers is an education, especially for those for whom school is only a rosy-remembered glow. But John Godber, for all the wonderful humour of his play, paints a picture of teaching today that is as disturbing as it is funny.

The seeds of concern which featured in the first iteration of Teechers I saw forty years ago are now Giant Hogweeds of poison that stalk the city schools of today. Frustration. Demoralisation. Hopelessness. All of these have to be 'managed' on a daily basis to keep on 'keeping on'. And whilst the kids may not have changed that much in 4 decades, the teachers certainly have.

Whitewalls High School is now a contactless academy with 900 pupils and a completely unfathomable timetable. Three pupils from form 11YY - Salty, Hobby and Gail, are putting on an end of term play about their school. They've clearly been paying attention to drama classes because their show is superb - feisty, witty, knock-about and surprisingly pointed.

Levi Payne, Sophie Suddaby and Jo Patmore are from the higher ranks of the John Godber acting stable and have all graced the New Vic stage before. They each play many, many roles...

Levi portrays a wonderful old-school headteacher who uses her 1950s charm to keep the ship sailing, and doesn't really notice anything is going wrong. He is also worryingly hilarious as the demonic school bully, Oggie Motson (who didn't get out of bed during the whole of lockdown). Then there's the authoritarian Maths teacher Mr Basford (nobody speaks in his lessons). And, as a black actor playing a Caucasian teacher, he earns one of the plays biggest laughs with the line, “Are you accusing me of being a middle-aged white man”. As he drops the line, the entire cast freezes and waits a min-eternity for the penny to drop with the audience. It takes while, but it's magic.

Sophie is the new drama teacher Miss Nixon, going through the traumas that all newbie's do; getting lost in the corridors and having to champion the Cinderella of the curriculum. An agonising moment is when she inadvertently headbutts the school bully and has to wait all Christmas to face the consequences.

Jo shines as Jackie Prime, the showboating gym mistress, and tennis icon. She also plays the brilliantly observed cranky, jobs-worth caretaker who is dourly dedicated to mopping the hall floor despite it being timetabled for drama.

The above is just a fraction of what this talented trio achieve on the canvas of a large, chaotic school. They are impressing, dazzling dervishes to watch.

John Godber has grabbed the opportunity to update Teechers with both hands. My memory of the show 40 years ago may not be complete but there are now references to blatant vaping (rather than smoking behind the bike sheds) and instead of sneaky peeks at top-shelf magazines, the kids stream 'inappropriate content' on their mobile phones. The snatches of music are now post-disco and the dance routines post-Pan's People. And the partisan politics of education are now a huge black cloud of fear hanging over everyone.

The portrayal of the teachers seems starker than before. Amidst the joke cracking, the staff are quietly cracking up themselves under the strain of woke-ness and the burden of administration and desperate lack of resources. Living under the shadow of the well-funded posh school up the road is a constant reminder of inadequacy.

Is it possible to howl with laughter at a highly hilarious play and be despondent at the end of it? Sadly, yes. The relentless march of deterioration leads to a painful, reality-check climax. In his programme notes Mr. Godber urges the new Labour Government to do something about it. Let this be a lesson to them.

Having said that, it was - and still is - an achingly funny evening. Teechers was one of John Godber's earliest plays and I've always regarded it to be his best. Now it's even better.

Four stars

Reviewed by Chris Eldon Lee at the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme on Tuesday 3 February. Teechers continues to show at the venue until Saturday 7 February.