The great John Byrne, who sadly left us earlier this month, was hailed as one of Scotland's greatest contemporary artists. But he originally made his name as a playwright, with The Slab Boys (1978), which deals with his life before getting into art school. Byrne's fictional persona is Phil McCann, who is 19 years old in 1957 and working in the colour preparation department ('Slab Room') of Stobo & Co, Carpet Manufacturers. His oppo is George 'Spanky' Farrell and their mutual victim Hector Mackenzie. All are smitten with the comely Lucille, who shows no interest whatsoever in any of them.
It is a play of coming-of-age at a time when tides were turning. It is a vivid evocation of the industrial life where young lads had very little to do and therefore indulged in high jinks. It was notably successful around the UK in the late seventies and two follow-ups ensued, Cuttin' a Rug (1979), which takes place the same evening, at Stobo & Co's Christmas bop, and Still Life (1982) set ten years on, in 1967, and then five years later in 1982.
Cuttin a Rug, I have to say, didn't do it for me. It was originally a radio play, The Staffie, then it became a stage play (Threads), then The Loveliest Night of the Year and finally this. On radio I can see it working well. On stage and on the page it reminds me too strongly of Willy Russell's Stags and Hens, one of very few creative works which I actually despise. The problem is, it is all action 'off'. The dance is going on in the ballroom and from time to time we are meant to hear what is going on. The action we see, however, is in the gents and ladies' cloakrooms (Act One) and then the terrace where revellers go to do whatever. It is, frankly, overwrought. Ironically, given it is supposed to be the coming of age of the Slab Boys, the standout characters are tea-lady Sadie and the frustrated spinster Miss Walkinshaw.
Still Life, on the other hand, is much more successful. Phil is now a working artist, albeit unsuccessful. Spanky is still at the carpet factory but is trying to make it as a musician. Spanky has married the divine Elaine and they have a baby daughter. The setting is the Paisley cemetary. The funeral that brings them together is for poor Hector, done to death with a brick by a man he was having sex with in a cubicle at the swimming baths.
Hector had episodes of mental illness and was sectioned for a time. Phil's mother had lifelong mental issues (as did Byrne's mother, and with reason - Byrne believed he was the product of incesr between his mother and her father), which gives Phil a reason for attending. Spanky has simply seen it in the paper. The narrative thread of Slab Boys was, will Phil get accepted at the art school? The thread of Still Life Act One is, will Spanky's upcoming appearance on Juke Box Jury lead to better things?
It does, and in Act Two we are still in the cemetery but Spanky is just off a plane from the States where he is a major rock star. Phil is still a jobbing painter but now he is married to Lucille and has adopted her daughter with Spanky. He is back in the cemetery to see the memorial stone for his mother. The play works well. The jokes are dark but the main characters have all mellowed and the ending is upbeat.
It should be noted, there is a fourth instalment, making it a tetralogy - Nova Scotia (2008), which I have got hold of but haven't yet read. Menawhile, surely someone is planning to revive The Slab Boys? A great play should never die.
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