The Boys From The Blackstuff @ Garrick Theatre, London
Alan Bleasdale’s writing, adapted by James Graham, sings. Albeit as it remains in its early 1980’s setting, it becomes a bit of a period piece with its donkey jackets and landline phones. Which is a shame because the themes — dignity, right to work and a fair living wage, the cost of living crisis, not being able to get full-time or long-term employment — are still deeply with us now. I wish in a way it had been updated — although now people would be juggling inter-generational unemployment as a given, three jobs, zero hours contracts and the cost of utilities and access to data.
The blackstuff is tarmac, which the ‘boys’ are laying — with forays into other kinds of building duties too. Though never let Yosser (Barry Sloane) build a wall for you! (Ever!) Contrasting the number not name system of the ‘dole’ (benefits claim office) with the small, intimate community of the dockers/former dockers and their friends and families. They are living hand to mouth and nobody speaks to Yosser any more. (We’ll learn why later on)…
Fizzing on the edge, Yosser (with his children in tow) is desperate for work. To the point, where as a running gag, he sees someone working, says he could do that, and chases them shouting ‘gizza job, gizzit!’ Yet, as he says later on, all he wants is his dignity, to provide for his children. Give him work and he will do it! We see what a loving father he is — even if he does take bring your children to work day too literally! Yet he’s also a pariah within his local community.
Loggo (Aron Julius) is a proud man, despite the dehumanising and othering dumped on him at the dole office, and by his community. Dixie Dean (Mark Womack) is the leader of the work gang and he always knows what to do, until he doesn’t. Chrissie ‘Christopher Robin’ Todd (Nathan McMullen) is the son of George (Philip Whitchurch), who is the sage of the community, channelling his inner Bernard Cribbins/Grandad from Doctor Who and everyone goes to for advice. He doesn’t seek to be a fount of wisdom, just to share what he’s learned along the way. Chrissie is constantly derided for being too soft, for not standing up for himself. Yet he loves his wife, Angie (Lauren O’Neil) and his children and enjoys being a family man, with pet geese and a ferret. These pets will later cause ructions as he takes the last slices of bread (albeit stale) to feed them and not his family.
George reminisces about how things were — the local publican is desperate to sell up, but can’t, as the docking community declines, their income too, and is replaced by binge parties to celebrate redundancy. There is the pride of the thinking working man, (and woman), the fight against power, authority and ‘them’ in strikes, in finding work despite claiming dole, avoiding the dole officer sniffers and having a laugh where they can. It’s comradeship.
Here the focus is very much Yosser with his fight (literally) for dignity and work, and Snowy (George Caple), the skilled man who takes pride in doing a good job well done, despite falling to his death when caught by sniffers. The dole office staff with big glasses and bigger hair are compiling a watch list, lurking and keeping an eye on those deemed to be flouting the rules. They make the watched lives a misery by calling them in for pointless questioning which they already know all the answers to — as demonstrated by Dixie when he races ahead with the questions and answers. Molloy (Dominic Carter) knows his workers are flouting the dole rule and exploits them, keeping them in unsecure, uncertain work.
Mixed in with the dodging and diving are moral dilemmas, such as Dixie being tempted into joining in a robbery at the warehouse he’s guarding. Yosser seethes as his gas is in arrears and bailiffs try to enter his house to take goods in payment, and he loses custody of his children, having already lost his wife. Shame and guilt, but also his cry of being seen as a human being, of deserving dignity touches to the core. A slow mo fight with the police is beautifully choreographed here, and Yosser reappears, increasingly battered, reporting for dole sign on duty.
George dies tragically, having helped the Todds. Mrs Dean provides comedy and tragedy as she tries to evade the snooping dole office phone calls and watchers on who calls at the door, crawling around the hallway on her hands and knees, whispering through the letterbox. Angie explodes in disappointment and regret at Chrissie, who explodes back — not wanting to take a ‘guilt’ job, yet really wanting a full time job. This leads to the horrible destruction of his much loved pets.
We learn what went wrong, why they’re living hand to mouth with no food or money for utilities, why they’re being so watched. And why Yosser is public enemy number one. Strangely the dole office call off the hunt at the last moment, the boys are taken off their suspect list and allowed to carry on business as usual. Chrissie finally has a permanent job.
Throughout we get a sense of hierarchy, how you’re either judged to be ‘nothing’ or ‘somebody’, and book learning sneered at (in terms of university), whilst they can think deeply and politically. Kevin Dean (George Caple) longs to study music, but ends up hitching to Leeds instead. Loggo is off to the Shetlands! In a beautiful moment, Dixie apologies to his son for the way he’s treated him, for not allowing him to follow his dreams. We also start to see the formation of inter-generational unemployment — Dixie can’t understand why his son isn’t up and dressed looking for work; only there’s none to be had. Kevin is different to his dad, wanting to understand the sneered at student studying English Literature and a different kind of life. In a brilliant moment the priest is called out for calling George ‘Patrick’ and the memorial service hijacked to really eulogise him. All of this is contrasted with the ugly beginning with a snippet of Margaret Thatcher going into one of her pull yourself up by your boot straps speeches as she and her minister prepared to destroy proud working class communities.
Staged in a very industrial setting, whilst the blackstuff is barely there — hinted at by a vat of steaming tar and rakes held over it, this is a love letter to Liverpool too. Cranes move up and down, warehouse with balconies and emergency exit stairs are invoked — we see the Mersey and the sea! Similarly rusty iron cages are used for the dole sign on’s. Only the lounge or breakfast table contrasts to this hard grafting urban environment. Episodic, laughs intermingled with death and wakes, the beauty of the writing touches the heart. Be impressed too by the quality of the writing and characters, especially the women.
It also breaks your heart as Yosser tries to find some hope, salvation — Catholic and Protestant-style. This community think that God has abandoned them, is looking the other way. The Church is another posh middle-class authority, coming in (not part of) and again offers a strong rallying cry for indigenous church. And a quality gold moment on confessing to a priest called Dan, that Yosser is ‘desperate Dan!’