Widely heralded as one of the greatest programmes to ever emerge from the UK, Boys from the Blackstuff is a towering achievement. Powerfully written by Alan Bleasdale, this angry and mordantly funny drama captured the pain and anxiety of unemployed Liverpudlians struggling to survive in the deindustrialised landscape of Thatcher’s Britain, their pleas for understanding ignored by heartless bureaucrats.
Since its debut in 1982, Bleasdale has been approached several times about the possibility of adapting his magnum opus to the stage, but it took over four decades for Blackstuff to reach Liverpool’s Royal Court in 2023 when the prolific (and reliably excellent) playwright James Graham nobly agreed to shoulder the responsibility.
In the original series, Bleasdale had five one-hour episodes in which to portray the intersecting lives of five unemployed road workers (the “blackstuff” of the title refers to tarmac) who scrape by with bits of ad-hoc, cash-in-hand work whilst trying to avoid detection from the “sniffers”, the name of social security officers who work undercover to catch out supposed benefit “cheats”. Overall, Graham does an admirable job of preserving the key narrative beats of Bleasdale’s series within the space of 150 minutes, although—understandably—he can’t fully recreate the depth and richness of the original.
That being said, Graham’s adaptation still manages to capture much of the original series’ emotional heft. Nowhere is this more evident than in the figure of Yosser Hughes, who was brought to volcanic life on television by the mighty Bernard Hill. Like Bleasdale, Graham uses Yosser to illustrate the crushing psychological toll of joblessness and the way it can corrode the spirit.
The role of Yosser Hughes is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it offers an actor the opportunity to explore the psyche of a complex and damaged man; on the other, any actor who takes on the role must expect to be compared to Hill’s immortal performance. Clad in black with an oversized moustache that puts one in mind of a tragic Groucho Marx, Jay Johnson looks every inch the part. Fortunately, however, he succeeds in steering away from mere impersonation—a difficult thing given the way the catchphrase “Gizza job” has invaded the public consciousness—managing to capture the anger, despair and vulnerability of a lost soul who feels that his life has been stripped of meaning.
Despite having the most attention-grabbing role, Johnson is just one of numerous top-drawer performers on the stage. George Caple skilfully conveys the soulfulness of Chrissie—arguably the most agreeable of the “Boys”—which makes his eventual breakdown even more shocking. He is matched in the latter scene by Amber Blease as Angie, Chrissie’s disenchanted wife, who powerfully embodies the frustration of a woman who feels trapped by circumstance.
Mark Womack gives a wonderfully warm and likable performance as Dixie, the night watchman obliged to turn a blind eye to criminal goings-on, and there is a superb turn from Ged McKenna as George, the elder statesman of the group, who doles out wisdom and advice to those around him. Also notable is Reiss Barber, who makes an impression in the tragically brief role of Snowy.
Despite a technical issue that forced the actors to temporarily leave the stage, Boys from the Blackstuff is a well-oiled machine, confidently and fluidly staged by its director Kate Wasserberg. Furthermore, the production is greatly enhanced by Amy Jane Cook’s striking set—a combination of girders, cranes and corrugated iron—which succeeds in evoking Liverpool’s dockland whilst also providing an eye-catching backdrop. Jamie Jenkin’s poetic video designs also add another layer of visual interest—particularly the recurring image of a falling man, which has both narrative and thematic resonances.
As mentioned before, it would be virtually impossible for any stage adaptation to fully capture the power of the original Boys from the Blackstuff. Nevertheless, this stage adaptation—which will soon be making its way to Newcastle—is a deeply humane and affecting piece of work.