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PAUL DONOVAN recommends a skilful adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s 1980s epic TV drama
blackstuff

Boys from the Blackstuff
National Theatre, London

THIS excellent adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s 1980s epic drama has great resonance for the insecure working environment of today.

The play, about five men struggling to find work in Thatcher’s 1980s Britain, brings out the desperation of the time but not without a little humour.

James Graham’s skilful adaptation compacts what was a five-part serial TV drama into just two-and-a-half hours.

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