James Graham’s adaptation of 'Boys from the Blackstuff' to make West End transfer

The play, which is set in Liverpool in the 1980s, heads to the Garrick Theatre, following runs at Liverpool’s Royal Court and the National’s Olivier Theatre.

James Graham’s adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s Boys from the Blackstuff will transfer to the Garrick Theatre in the West End for a limited eight-week run, beginning on 13 June.

The show, directed by Kate Wasserberg, is set in Liverpool in the 1980s and follows five men struggling to find work and make ends meet.

The play heads to the Garrick Theatre, following runs at Liverpool’s Royal Court (19 April — 11 May) and the National’s Olivier Theatre (22 May — 8 June).

Graham said, "To work with Alan Bleasdale in the room has been the biggest treat of my life. He’s one of the reasons I became a writer. I think Boys from the Blackstuff is more resonant today than it’s ever been before. We’re living through a time right now, with the cost of living crisis, where those fears and that anger towards the lack of hope, the lack of a plan to get us out of this crisis, makes an audience respond and react. And because of how iconic these characters are, and because of all those famous lines that a lot of people still remember, it feels really alive in the theatre. It’s actually really funny: Alan Bleasdale is an hilarious writer and Liverpool has this dark sense of humour that cuts through all the tragedy and all the bleakness."

The cast will include George Caple (Doctor Who) as Snowy/Kevin/Scotty, Dominic Carter (Coronation Street, Game of Thrones) as Molloy/Marley/Landlord/Catholic Priest/Policeman, Helen Carter (The Flint Street Nativity, Top Girls) as Miss Sutcliffe/Freda/Margaret, Aron Julius (Death on the Nile, Death in Paradise) as Loggo, Nathan McMullen (Doctor Who, Misfits, Wagatha Christie: Rooney v Vardy) as Chrissie, Lauren O’Neil (Witness for the Prosecution, This House, King Lear, Women Beware Women) as Angie/Jean/Lawton/Student/Lollipop Lady, Jamie Peacock (Masquerade) as Moss/Anglican Reverend, Barry Sloane (The Bay, Litvinenko, Jerusalem) as Yosser, Liam Tobin (Then and Now) as ensemble, and Mark Womack (Emmerdale, Hillsborough) as Dixie.

The rest of the creative team includes set and costume design by Amy Jane Cook, lighting design by Ian Scott, movement direction by Rachael Nanyonjo, original music and sound design by Dyfan Jones, associate sound design by Kate Harvey, audio visual design by Jamie Jenkin, fight direction by Rachel Bown-Williams of RC-Annie Ltd, and associate movement direction by Jocelyn Prah.

Book Boys from the Blackstuff tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Boys from the Blackstuff at Liverpool's Royal Court in September 2023. (Photo by Jason Roberts)