I was born in the 60’s, so remember clearly and with fondness, the series by the infamous Liverpudlian writer Alan Bleasdale – “The Boys from the Black Stuff”- the Black Stuff being the tar that a high number of men spent tarmacking the expanding roads of Britain in their days of employment.
The first showing of the iconic programme was aired on BB2 – then a channel that had low ratings/viewers- on 10/10/82 but through its immediate popularity with viewers, moved to the main channel of the day – BBC1.
The series depicted the stark reality of how working-class families were devastated by the lack of employment opportunities (more than 3 million people through this decade were unemployed – the highest figure for over 50 years) in this difficult decade.
Alan Bleasdale told the story from the heart, sharing the impact on a man’s pride, respect and eventually- soul, when faced with the daily drudgery of having to sign on at “The Dole”, struggling to feed their families and sustain their own self-respect. The 80’s were a diverse era, with a lot of ‘yuppies’ emerging, the rich getting considerably richer and the poor- poorer. Streets were filled with angry people rioting for their right to work and to be heard and acknowledged, as traditional manufacturing industries were disappearing daily and Alan Bleasdale saw this disparity and exploitation and recorded this in a series, that at the time was described as both bleakly funny, deeply moving and brilliant.
In each episode the “Black stuff” (as it was often known as) focused on the travails of a different character, so that the viewer understood their individual plights, characters and challenges. In episode four the viewers met one character ‘Yosser Hughes’, who was going through a mental collapse, through the divorce of his wife, loss of his children and his sheer desperation of needing a job. His infamous line “Gizza job!” was a catchphrase that was heard throughout the land. Bleasdale had always wanted to transfer these episodes to a play and with the support of playwright James Grahm and the passion of writer Catherine Jones, the transformation from screen to stage became a reality.
On entering the Lowry theatre, I was impressed by the backdrop (great work by Amy Jane Cook) of docks, cranes and warehouses depicting the grisly sights of Liverpool at the time. The play opened with the main characters lined up at the employment office for their monthly hand- outs of the dole, again the props were ingenious with the ‘booths’ replaced by steel rods – linking their livelihood with their plight. The audience immediately warmed to the characters Chrissie (played with great talent by George Caple), Yosser (played by an awesome Jay Johnson), Loggo (compassionately played by Jurrell Carter), Dixie (a heart-broken and enigmatic Mark Womack) and Snowy (a rogue played lovingly by Reiss Barber) as they pleaded for their weekly dole money/pittance.
During the scenes, we witness how the team of friends, desperately try to make ends meet by working ‘under-cover’, and hiding from the relentless government searches (of anyone illegally working whilst claiming benefit), become increasingly agitated by the additional pressure and stress. Most people did this – an odd annual job here and there – so these Liverpudlian lads were no different to the others throughout the country at this time. As in the series, in each scene we become more and more familiar with each character, each family, each challenge and situation. Each of the characters were played brilliantly, with enduring passion, honest desperation, understandable anger and a tenacity that withered on a daily, if not hourly basis. We learn of lost hopes ( Chrissie’s wife played wonderfully by Amber Blease) shares the fact that her career has been demolished as she brings up two children in this desperate struggle and we learn of disaffected childhoods (shown by the believable Kyle Harrison-Pope), as young adults internally fight with the need to move away to find work or stay faithfully with their families and friends.
The gang of friends went through financial ruin when they entrusted employers with their hard-earned cash 12 months hence, on as site in Middlesbrough, an act that Dixie cannot forgive, and this resentment is eating him away as now 12 months later he searches for a way to forgive his friends for their naïve error. So, our gang of lovable rogues plan to again gain some extra dosh by working ‘on the side’ for the morally torn Mr Molloy (played by the very plausible Sean Kingsley) at his building yard, watchful at all times of being caught , especially by the employment office’s main snoops- the equally morally-torn Ms Sutcliffe ( played skilfully by Sian Polhill-Thomas) and the turncoat/scab Moss (played in typically bad-guy style by Jamie Peacock). Moss although ‘one of the lads’ craves to be acknowledged and honoured for his own achievements at work, mirroring ironically with the yearnings of his peers ‘the unemployed’.
And so, the inevitable happens and the gang are ‘caught red handed’ and as Snowy tries to flee the government officers, tragedy strikes, and he is killed. The lads are now under prosecution, and they have lost a dear lifelong friend. Snowy’s father (played compassionately by the brilliant Ged Mckenna), is heartbroken by the loss of his son, but also of the loss of his wonderful city of Liverpool and the camaraderie and togetherness there once was. His final scene with the wonderful George Caple, brought tears to everyone’s eyes, as they shared the intimate moments of nostalgia of the old Liverpool days.
Throughout the play all cast showed their marvellous skills and not a foot or word was put wrong. The enigmatic moves (well done Rachael Nanyonjo – movement director) were fabulous – especially the slow-movement scenes. Yossa Hughes was startingly brilliant – great work by Jay Johnson – what unbelievable talent he has – but hand-on- heart, all played their parts amazingly, were strikingly believable and the audience rooted for every single person on that stage. The director Kate Wasserberg should be very proud as should Alan, James and Catherine of this amazing achievement. For those that avidly watched the series – you know how it ends and for those that don’t – there are no spoilers here – you need to go and see this. I applaud (very loudly) every single person on that stage tonight and everyone who made this happen – it is a masterpiece.
Showing – Wednesday 23rd April – Saturday 26th April at 7.30pm, Tickets from £17. https://thelowry.com/whats-on/193//boys-from-the-blackstuff
Reviewer Jan Mellor
Reviewed: 22nd April 2025
North West End UK Rating: