BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF Will Embark on UK Tour

Bill Kenwright Ltd has announced that James Graham’s acclaimed adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s Boys from the Blackstuff will tour the UK in 2025, following sell-out runs at Liverpool’s Royal Court and The National Theatre, and its current run in London’s West End at the Garrick Theatre.

This is 1980s Liverpool.  Chrissie, Loggo, George, Dixie and Yosser are used to hard work and providing for their families.  But there is no work and there is no money.  What are they supposed to do?  Work harder, work longer, buy cheaper, spend less?  They just need a chance.  Life is tough but the lads can play the game.  Find the jobs, avoid the ‘sniffers' and see if you can have a laugh along the way.

James Graham’s powerful new adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s BAFTA award-wnning television drama, directed by Kate Wasserberg, has been picking up rave reviews since it premiered at Liverpool’s Royal Court last September. The tour will begin at Theatre Royal Windsor on 29 January 2025 and will visit theatres throughout the country including a return to its home city at the Liverpool Empire from 25 – 29 March 2025.

James Graham says, "Alan Bleasdale's masterpiece is, infamously, a story proudly forged in the humour and voice of Liverpool, and it was a real honour and a thrill to open it to packed houses there last year, before bringing our show to London and the West End.

But Boys From the Blackstuff remains such a story of national significance, with a lasting impact on British culture, that taking it on the road, to communities around the country, feels like the most important thing we could be doing with our story next, and I'm delighted by the support and the belief from Bill Kenwright Ltd, and Liverpool’s Royal Court that birthed it."

Alan Bleasdale says, "I never expected Boys from the Blackstuff to be quite the sell-out sensation it has become at Liverpool’s Royal Court, at The National Theatre and then in London’s West End.

What I always hoped was that the rest of the country might have a chance to see this magnificent adaptation by James Graham. Now, that has been made possible by Bill Kenwright Ltd who have staged my theatre work since Are You Lonesome Tonight  over forty years ago!"

James Graham’s Dear England (National Theatre and West End), a portrait of England footballer and team manager Gareth Southgate starring Joseph Fiennes, has been nominated for nine Olivier Awards and the BBC has commissioned a four-part drama by Graham based on his play.  His latest play, Punch, premiered at Nottingham Playhouse in May and will transfer to The Young Vic March 2025.  It is based on Jacob Dunne’s book Right from Wrong, an unflinching true-life account of how teenager Jacob throws a single punch with fatal consequences and then, when released from prison, meets the parents of his victim. Graham’s other writing includes The Way (BBC), Sherwood (BBC), Best of Enemies (Young Vic and Noel Coward Theatre), Quiz (Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, West End and ITV), Ink (Almeida Theatre, West End, Broadway) and This House (National Theatre).

Boys from the Blackstuff is directed by Kate Wasserberg (Artistic Director, Theatr Clwyd), with set and costume design by Amy Jane Cook, lighting design by Ian Scott, movement direction by Rachael Nanyonjo, original music composed and sound design by Dyfan Jones, video design by Jamie Jenkin, fight direction by Rachel Bown-Williams of RC-Annie Ltd and associate movement direction by Jocelyn Prah.  Associate Director is Tim Welton.

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