The adaptation of Alan Bleasdale's 1982 TV series features a fully Scouse cast
'Boys from the Blackstuff' is one of the seminal dramatic accounts of life in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. Though five of its six episodes were written before she came to power, Mrs Thatcher was riding high when Alan Bleasdale's TV drama hit screens.
Bleasdale's show followed five men at the tip of that spear - Yosser, Dixie, Chrissie, Loggo and George - unemployed tarmac layers having to battle the myriad challenges of recession-hit Liverpool. The series' unflinching look at the impact of unemployment and the desperation it causes made it an enduring tale of the era.
Graham has adapted the six part series into two hours of drama as faithfully as possible. Bleasdale's writing - particularly his devastating speeches, sharp one-liners and searing social commentary - shine through as the adaptation retains the spirit of his original work. Its palpable sense of place is built by a wonderful Scouse cast, never missing a chance to cut through the bleakness facing the characters with jokes that bring the house down. The audience is dropped to the depths of despair but laughs as they're falling.
Garston's Barry Sloane is electrifying as Yosser Hughes - the story's most memorable character. A man who bought into a system that only ever let him down, Yosser is desperate to be someone that matters. What's more, he needs a job to support his children, right the wrongs of the past and preserve what's left of his sanity.
That said, the entire cast is on top form. Aron Julius makes for an excellent Loggo, while Mark Womack and Andrew Schofield are perfectly cast as the comparatively understated Dixie and wise elder statesman George respectively.
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