REVIEW: Boys from the Blackstuff, Liverpool Royal Court
The Black Stuff proves to be the right stuff for the Royal Court, riding high with the biggest Liverpool play in years
IN the programme for this second outing of Boys from the Blackstuff, the Royal Court’s artistic director tells of how his pleas to writer Alan Bleasdale to pen a stage version for the venue had become a fruitless annual event - but he never gave up.
You can see why there might have been reticence; such an iconic, oft-parodied piece of drama, with its well-worn catchphrases and dated 1980s stylings could have easily become its own tribute act. Such a project had to offer more than playing to the gallery to justify itself - and this production has certainly risen to the challenge.
Adapted by James Graham with Bleasdale’s approval, and skilfully taken to quite dizzying theatrical heights by director Kate Wasserberg, this electrifying piece cleverly amalgamates the main dramatic plots of the six-episode 1982 series, peppered with the backstory of original TV play The Black Stuff, which set up the misfortune and misery that followed the characters on to the programme.
It tells the tale of a group of tarmac layers fighting to survive in desperate times; taking work whenever it comes, trying to keep one step ahead of the dole office, and finding principles, and relationships, tested at every difficult turn.
The fantastic cast has many kept busy with multiple roles, giving a real vibrancy to the action on stage.
He’s no newcomer, but it has to be a real breakout performance for Nathan McMullan as gentle man of principle Chrissy Todd, falling apart under the pressure of absolute poverty.
There’s a pitch-perfect portrayal from Mark Womack’s as weary, contemplative Dixie; and Aron Julius as Loggo, in his trademark sheepskin coat, is a class act, a character fleshed out to confront issues of racial inequality as well as offering some of the play’s rare, small, but not unnoticeable, shoots of hope.
And then there’s Yosser Hughes, a figure so iconic it would seem quite impossible to imagine anyone other than Bernard Hill in the role.
Enter former Hollyoaks rotter Barry Sloane, who captures Yosser’s hulking awkwardness but has something more tender and less maniacal in his eyes; still a very broken man, but arguably not quite so isolated.
Philip Whitchurch’s George, the quintessential wise aul’ Scouse elder is so recognisable and a vital link to the Liverpool of the past - the same in many ways, to be sure, but so very different now. There was no Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool One, Tate or arena on George’s original Last Ride; but needless to say, the problems the ‘boys’ faced still aren’t a million miles away.
You can imagine the thrill of being part of the production team, finding ways to bring the narratives together and to recreate the look and action of the series in the confines of a theatre space. Yosser mightn’t end up wading into the lake at Sefton Park like on TV, but the audience will never forget his final showdown, stunning in its execution and horribly poignant.
Full disclosure - I was late to the start of the performance, and was kindly ushered to the back of the gods to catch up. For act two, I watched from the front row. This play was electrifying and profoundly moving from both vantage points, the energy in the room palpable no matter how near or far from the action.
Boys from the Blackstuff is part of the fabric of Liverpool - to the extent this reviewer can barely even conceive coming to it blind, and that would certainly go for this Saturday matinee crowd as well, who certainly got what they came for. But if it didn’t have a wider appeal or have more to say than simply being a comforting throwback, it wouldn’t have gone on to achieve what it has.
With such balance carefully struck, the Royal Court can celebrate the biggest home-grown theatrical success since (I think?) Ghost Stories - two massively acclaimed, sell-out runs at home, before heading to the National Theatre and the West End next month. Times change. But a period piece this is not.
Boys from the Blackstuff is on at the Royal Court until May 11.
