THEATRE REVIEW: Boys From The Backstuff - The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Alan Bleasdale’s gritty social drama which started life on TV in 1978 as a ‘Play For Today’ called ‘The Black Stuff’ was a no-holds-barred look at life in Thatcher's Britain portrayed through the lives of diverse working-class men and women; this was developed into the critically acclaimed, ‘Boys From The Blackstuff’, a poignant and humorous mini-series of five, fifty minute episodes which aired on BBC2 in 1982. This new adaption by James Graham, writer of the hit BBC series Sherwood, is presented by Liverpool’s Royal Court and Stockroom Productions.

It tells the story of five tarmac layers, Chrissie, Loggo, George, Dixie and Yosser, who are used to hard graft and providing for their families but suddenly they have no work and no money as they’ve lost their jobs and are dealing with unemployment in the Thatcher era. Directed by Stockroom Productions's artistic director, Kate Wasserberg, it’s a depiction of the desperation and hopelessness felt while struggling to cope with high rates of unemployment and the lack of social support which follows. 

The story is a portrayal of Liverpool in the 1980s, a bleak and despairing place, with only the common threads of unemployment and humour keeping moral up. The story centres on the struggle of a ragged band of workers trying to make ends meet. On the way there are scams, subterfuge, corruption and the ongoing battle between the workers and the ‘sniffers’, the Welfare Benefit Fraud Investigators. 

Focusing in on the life of each character, it portrays the anguish and suffering experienced around their frantic struggles to find work as well as harshly depicting the devastating effects of unemployment on their domestic lives and their mental health.

The play is staged on a set designed by Amy Jane Cook, depicting industrial rigging, giving an industrial feel with scenes using various movable constructions which help to smoothly relocate the audience’s attention between work places, public buildings and domestic settings; at times the actors are high up on platforms and then at eye level using wooden crates on wheels, dry ice and flaming tarmac boilers. A rear video backdrop of the Mersey waters and docks interspersed with still images of Liverpool complete the atmosphere emphasising the maritime theme to this version of the story and relative simplicity of the staging. 

The five main characters, Barry Sloane, as Yosser, Andrew Schofield as union leader George, Mark Womack as Dixie, Nathan McMullen as Chrissy, and Aron Julius as Loggo, unveil the camaraderie of the working-class men which builds well throughout the show highlighting the solid ties of trust and loyalty between them and then shows how they go on to realise that their allegiance to one another outlives any job or relationship. 

The first half sets the scene but is somewhat slow and unremarkable but the action steps up after the interval and contains the more interesting insights into the personal lives of the main characters with shared musical interludes and reminiscences of their past and the dreams they had along the way. The original critically acclaimed work was lauded for its depiction of the desperation and hopelessness felt while struggling to cope with high rates of unemployment and the lack of social support which followed and this certainly comes across in this production.  Barry Sloane portrays Yosser outstandingly with passion and sympathy while the other four principal actors excel in their depiction of characters trapped in a specific moment of time, powerless to improve their quality of life.

The dialogue and language used throughout the production helps depict the atmosphere of the time and location, with colloquial ‘scouse’ used providing the audience with laughter and a few tears; despair, anger, disillusion, hopelessness and frustration are portrayed brilliantly. 

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
on - 21.9.23