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Symbolic victims of state brutality
SYLVIA HIKINS wholeheartedly recommends the stage production of Alan Bleasdale’s warm, witty TV classic
BOISTEROUS: (L to R) Mark Womack, Andrew Schofield, Lauren O'Neil, Nathen McMullen, Barry Sloane, Aron Julius

Boys from the Blackstuff
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool

 

 

IN MY hallway hangs a portrait of Yosser Hughes, key player in the iconic 1980s TV series Boys from the Blackstuff, Liverpool playwright Alan Bleasdale’s warm, witty but ultimately tragic look at the way economics and lack of social support affects ordinary people.

Forty years later, in collaboration with writer James Graham, the blackstuff  boys Chrissie, Loggo, George, Dixie and Yosser are back on stage in their hometown, Liverpool, retelling their story.

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