Jimmy watches Countdown and tries to ignore his bills, grief, COPD and frailty. Meanwhile, his carer walks a tightrope between kindness and reality
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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
[Jason Roberts]
JOHN FLINT explores the Appleby Blue development, winner of the Stirling prize 2025
GORDON PARSONS enjoys the wealth of wisdom and the clarity of expression from a dialogue between Chomsky and Mujica
GUILLERMO THOMAS enjoys a survey of the current state of the CIA (aka Langley) from an expert and insider of sorts
MARIA DUARTE, FIONA O CONNOR and JOHN GREEN review The Choral, Belen, Dragonfly, and Colossal Wreck
WILL STONE is frustrated by a performance that chooses to garble the lyrics and drown the songs in reverb
RITA DI SANTO points out the social experience of exploitation and oppression that inform the popular winners at this year’s festival
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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