Art holds up a mirror to life, and the view revealed by the new production of Boys From The Blackstuff at the Churchill Theatre until 22nd February was grimy, depressing, challenging, funny, witty, harrowing, and more. These boys and girls were, mostly, as decades of earlier reviewers of this play from 1982 must have said, mainly of the bleak stuff. Set in Liverpool and focussing on a group of friends seeking work and self-respect, but finding instead rejection, poverty, and the lure of the black market, there were no magical Hollywood happy endings here.
Indeed, many of the themes – the never-vanquished presence of unemployment, of regional inequalities, the loss of dignity without work, the presence of poverty now resulting in so many foodbanks and family dramas that must duplicate those seen here – are with us today.
Yet this does not mean that this is not an entertaining show. Hence, no doubt, its longevity, plus it has the advantage in its early television appearance of having the late Bernard Hill in as the iconic Yosser Hughes, here played splendidly by Jay Johnson, his clenched fist of a face sawn in half by the thick, blade of his moustache. Yosser is an enduring symbol of fraying anger, resentment, and plaintive yearning for simple hope, his frequent refrain between head-butts, ‘Giz a job’. Alongside Yosser, the story had an anchor, a connector to a better time before the events of this period. This was Ged McKenna as George, who aged before our eyes, but who also supported his friends through their own tribulations.
Much of the strength of this play and production is with story, script, and cast. So while, it is fair to say, the half before the interval was indeed especially bleak, this was interwoven with a lightness that appeared more and more after that break and some excellent visual set pieces and ironic and unexpected developments. Some of the best moments of back to back humour and starkness and despair – a difficult combination to carry off – were excellently portrayed by Amber Blease as Angie (along with an array of other cameo re-dressed appearances).
Talking of dress, the costumes – a raid on many a vintage store here – were beautifully of the period, something that extended to the glasses and hair of the fairly odious Moss (David Peacock).
Will this show give you a great time? It will certainly give you a time that is of its time. How comfortable you are with that is up to you, but there is no doubt that this is a quality production.
That shone through in moment after moment of slick, well-thought through, and well-performed comedy. This was the gold that shone from the dark, the light and shade that helped this night to be a memorable one.
The blackstuff referred to in this play is tarmac, and Chrissie (George Caple) an expert in laying it as a road surface. Perhaps after the play he might like to come and help out with some of Bromley’s abundant pot holes.
Darren and Jacqui Weale, 18 February 2025
Bromley Buzz 