Boys from the Blackstuff - Liverpool/NT/Garrick/Tour

[sf]

Saw it tonight.

It's... disappointing. It may be less disappointing if you aren't familiar with the original TV series.

Basically the problem is that when you try to compress nearly seven hours of television (the original TV film and the five-part serial that followed it) into two hours of stage time, you end up with a lot of plot, and the characters are left with no space to breathe. Yosser Hughes's story, in the original, is a devastating study of how long-term unemployment can lead to serious mental illness. Here, Yosser Hughes is basically a catchphrase and a moustache. We get all the events, but his gradual slide into a nervous breakdown isn't, well, gradual. There's the same problem with the relationship between Chrissie and Angie. Nathan McMullen and Lauren O'Neil do their best with the big set-piece scene, but it's nowhere near as shattering as it is in the original series because we haven't had time to get to know these characters as well as we need to in order for it to land. And it also doesn't benefit from being played on a large stage, rather than in close-up on a small screen.

And so on. There's nothing wrong with any of the performances, except the actors are trapped in what more or less amounts to the Cliffs Notes version of their characters' stories. It's very James Graham - a slick, superficial, glib treatment of material that demands more complex examination. All the way through, it needed something extra. It's best when there's music, and in the two key scenes with slow-motion fight/action choreography. Music, perhaps, could provide the dimension that this adaptation lacks. It struck me, more than once, that Graham's adaptation could be the basis for some kind of folk opera (and I don't mean a traditional musical). Music, somehow, could put back some of the emotional resonance that you lose when you compress seven hours of character studies (because that's basically what the TV series is) into two hours of storytelling.

It isn't terrible. The set is terrific, the direction is good enough, and Graham has wisely retained all of Bleasdale's most pungent lines. And I think there's a compelling stage piece somewhere in this material, and a lot of people have liked this production a lot more than I did. But for me, this was a missed opportunity.

[n1david]

I was also there last night and had been pondering what to write about this but it turns out sf has pretty much done the job for me.

I didn't hate this, but I definitely didn't love it. The obligation to get through so much material means that the text is very bitty, there is no natural flow through the play. This got very positive reviews on its original run in Liverpool; I was left wondering whether that was because the city still had an affinity for the original material and that carried the production through, or whether a more intimate theatre made the difference (in which case the Garrick transfer might work better).

[Being Alive]

sf pretty much nails it.

I don't know the TV show at all, so I was perfectly happy watching it and it was a perfectly fine way to spend the evening...but I don't feel like it ever properly got out of 1st gear and into its stride, which is a shame.

There's definitely something there, but I'm not sure that they've totally found it yet.

[Someone in a tree]

Some good performances in there but i agree with the other negative comments. If Graham had built on the tv show and not just adapted it, then i may have found it interesting.

The cliche set and movement sequences that ive seen so many times before. Plus the endless moving of a chair or box for a a very short scene drove me nuts.

Giz a decent show

[showgirl]

I saw the matinee yesterday and was also underwhelmed and disappointed, especially after the rave reports from Liverpool, though the subsequent, more muted comments from the London tranfer had tempered my expectations considerably. I couldn't fault the acting or staging but although the second half contained longer scenes, focusing on fewer characters and allowing more depth, the whole felt too shallow and sketchy and much of the time, characters seemed to be talking at rather than to each other, or merely making pronouncements. In my opinion other plays - and musicals - have covered recent UK events and issues in a more engaging and entertaining way, eg Standing At The Sky's Edge, which also depicted industrial decline plus the housing crisis, and with the bonus of fantastic music. Likewise Brassed Off.

[Dave B]

May 26, 2024 2:25:19 GMT sf said:

There's the same problem with the relationship between Chrissie and Angie. Nathan McMullen and Lauren O'Neil do their best with the big set-piece scene, but it's nowhere near as shattering as it is in the original series because we haven't had time to get to know these characters as well as we need to in order for it to land.

I could not agree more with sf. The first half is really really flat, no time spent with the characters to really engage with them or get past the very broadest of strokes. This improves a little in the second half when it seems to focus with more success on Yosser and Chrissie, the added depth lets both actors flesh their characters out more and gives us a little connection.

A surprising number of non returners after the interval, we were in the circle and the odd empty seat at the start in the stalls had become a noticeable amount more afterwards. I do wonder how this will fill a WE run now to be honest.

[Rory]

I saw it the other night and enjoyed it. Thought it had a great central performance from Barry Sloane as Yosser. I agree that the second half is stronger but there are some lovely scenes and some very funny moments, and others which are deeply poignant.

I agree with whoever said it will sit better at the Garrick. I would love to see it again there. I was front row of the Circle in the Olivier and it just seemed so far away.

[jek]

Went last night and my thoughts are the same as sf. It did make me think, though, of what a different place 1982 was. At that point I was a student in Manchester making fairly regular visits to Liverpool as I was so home sick for East London (the Irish diaspora in Liverpool looked very like that in London docklands). Anyway I have dug out my DVD of the original play and series which I shall return to after many years. I did enjoy entering the auditorium to the strains of Elvis Costello singing Shipbuilding.


Obviously this could be unrepresentative but one thing I would say about last night's audience (it was a 6.30 pm show) was that it contained more men - some in groups - than I am used to seeing at the National. I wonder if Dear England has had an impact.

Travelled in the lift with a man who was complaining to his friend about the 'brilliant' Opening Night having closed early. He was being very scathing about Mamma Mia audiences.

[orchidman]

It's a museum piece, no idea why they thought it was worth reviving.

There's a strange idea in British media that watching miserable people being miserable is somehow morally uplifting but sadly the mechanism of this has never been explained to me and so I remain immune to it.

Despite this the London audience seemed to find Yosser Hughes's decline more amusing than emotive which hardly reflects well on anyone.

Tedious stuff.

[Someone in a tree]

Its interesting what you say about museum piece as prior to seeing it i thought it would somehow be topical, but nope just tedious

[Rory]

I'm surprised by the negativity about this. It was extremely well received by the audience the other night. And the revelation about Yosser's kids was brutal, no one was laughing or not taking it seriously. This is a humane piece blazing with anger.

I definitely wouldn't say it's a museum piece. The play is set in 1982 and it's true to the era. Whilst the world has moved on since then in so many ways, there are many families as desperate today as those depicted here, not least after 14 years of Tory governance which has decimated public services and brought nurses to food banks. Loss of self esteem, loss of respect, strain on relationships, compromising personal principles to put food on the table and heat the home, humour through adversity. It's all still going on.

[alessia]

I enjoyed this last night, though I was a little bored in the first half (that could be just me being tired) and lost focus a few times. I haven't seen the tv show so to me it was all new. I preferred the second half which had some great scenes both very serious and comedic. I loved the Yosser Hughes character, for me the best thing about this play.

SPOILER: Click to show

I realised quickly that the children weren't really there but just him losing his mind from grief and desperation.

We had a minor technical issue towards the end of the show, quickly resolved. Now the third time I experience technical problems at the Olivier...

[parsley1]

Jun 1, 2024 11:30:14 GMT Rory said:

I'm surprised by the negativity about this. It was extremely well received by the audience the other night. And the revelation about Yosser's kids was brutal, no one was laughing or not taking it seriously. This is a humane piece blazing with anger.

I definitely wouldn't say it's a museum piece. The play is set in 1982 and it's true to the era. Whilst the world has moved on since then in so many ways, there are many families as desperate today as those depicted here, not least after 14 years of Tory governance which has decimated public services and brought nurses to food banks. Loss of self esteem, loss of respect, strain on relationships, compromising personal principles to put food on the table and heat the home, humour through adversity. It's all still going on.

We know it’s going on

But we don’t needs a pantomime to communicate it to us

[Rory]

Jun 1, 2024 13:02:37 GMT parsley1 said:

Jun 1, 2024 11:30:14 GMT Rory said:

I'm surprised by the negativity about this. It was extremely well received by the audience the other night. And the revelation about Yosser's kids was brutal, no one was laughing or not taking it seriously. This is a humane piece blazing with anger.

I definitely wouldn't say it's a museum piece. The play is set in 1982 and it's true to the era. Whilst the world has moved on since then in so many ways, there are many families as desperate today as those depicted here, not least after 14 years of Tory governance which has decimated public services and brought nurses to food banks. Loss of self esteem, loss of respect, strain on relationships, compromising personal principles to put food on the table and heat the home, humour through adversity. It's all still going on.

We know it’s going on

But we don’t needs a pantomime to communicate it to us

Harsh parsley1! This isn't a panto!

[tmesis]

I didn’t think this worked at all as a stage play.

I wasn’t engaged at all with the material and was frankly bored for most of time.

[Marwood]

The only good thing I could say about the whole experience was that it was cheap (£20 for a fourth row seat but the two bellends sitting in front took the shine off that): I got the air of a class tourism package going on, the usual NT types coming in to soak up some Northern working class misery and feel good about themselves (while doing bugger all themselves about anything that might improve anything for anyone lower down the social ladder when they go back to their day to day lives)

[Jon]

Just back from seeing Boys from the Blackstuff and I liked it but didn't love it. James Graham had the difficult task of adapting the series and original TV play and he mostly succeeds with a mix of tragic and funny moments. Barry Sloane as Yosser Hughes has the best arc and shows how things have not really changed today for people who have mental health issues.

[orchidman]

Jun 1, 2024 11:30:14 GMT Rory said:

I'm surprised by the negativity about this. It was extremely well received by the audience the other night. And the revelation about Yosser's kids was brutal, no one was laughing or not taking it seriously. This is a humane piece blazing with anger.

I definitely wouldn't say it's a museum piece. The play is set in 1982 and it's true to the era. Whilst the world has moved on since then in so many ways, there are many families as desperate today as those depicted here, not least after 14 years of Tory governance which has decimated public services and brought nurses to food banks. Loss of self esteem, loss of respect, strain on relationships, compromising personal principles to put food on the table and heat the home, humour through adversity. It's all still going on.

Just because Alan Bleasdale had his finger on the pulse in 1982 does not make him a great dramatist, as demonstrated by his career and this revival. And as a wise man once said, "The poor will always be with you."

The main political cause of poverty amongst the English working classes is no longer the same as in 1982 and you can bet the National Theatre wouldn't allow a play that depicts it, albeit they might allow it in a piece that was instead deeply hostile to the English working classes.

[sf]

Jun 2, 2024 18:55:47 GMT orchidman said:

Just because Alan Bleasdale had his finger on the pulse in 1982 does not make him a great dramatist

I'd be inclined to put the blame for this misfire squarely on James Graham, who adapted Bleasdale's original scripts for the stage. Bleasdale's version absolutely works, and is a landmark piece of television drama. Graham's adaptation attempts to squeeze something that was originally much longer into two hours of stage time while preserving all the plot beats that people remember from watching the original. The result is overstuffed - Graham keeps all of Bleasdale's best lines, but squeezes too much plot and too many characters into too little space to the detriment of, well, everything.

As for whether Bleasdale is a great dramatist - at his best, in the medium that favours him best, he absolutely is. The original Boys From The Blackstuff is extraordinary, and so is G.B.H. (which incidentally also features career-best acting performances from Robert Lindsay and Michael Palin). Not everything he's done is at the same level, but those two pieces rank very highly indeed among the best television drama this country has ever produced.

[joem]

I am afraid this is not a patch on the original tv series. Trying to cram too much into two hours ends up with, as said by others, not enough character development - especially the crucial, central character of Yosser - whose tragic personality disintegration we don't really witness in stage, only the consequences.

Won't knock Graham unlike others on the thread; he has written some seriously good dramas so has plenty of brownie points in the bank for me, and if he is a chronicler rather than a metaphysicist, well... takes all sorts to create an interesting world and theatre scene.

[tw]

This looks to be touring. Showing up in Richmond 11-15 Feb.

www.atgtickets.com/shows/boys-from-the-blackstuff/richmond-theatre/

[marob]

Good find. Liverpool Empire 25-29 March too.

[Jon]

Jul 17, 2024 18:58:53 GMT marob said:

Good find. Liverpool Empire 25-29 March too.

Big theatre but local audience will ensure it'll sell well.

[marob]

Jul 17, 2024 18:59:40 GMT Jon said:

Jul 17, 2024 18:58:53 GMT marob said:

Good find. Liverpool Empire 25-29 March too.

Big theatre but local audience will ensure it'll sell well.

Although it has had two runs round the corner in the Royal Court where the tickets are pretty cheap. I just looked and I only paid £16. That’d be back row of the circle at the Empire.

———

I wonder if there’s any chance of it playing at Theatr Clwyd now the show’s director Kate Wasserberg is AD there. They’ve taken plenty of Kenwright shows in the past and the main auditorium should have reopened by then.

[Dave B]

ATG+ Presale live

www.atgtickets.com/shows/boys-from-the-blackstuff/

presumably more dates to follow.