The Black Stuff

Alan Bleasdale's play graphically illustrated the reality for a group of men struggling to keep their head above water. Through their comradeship and humour we come to care about these characters and in Yossa, Bleasdale created an Everyman figure whose desire simply to make something of himself and 'be noticed' is profoundly moving. The play was to spawn a hugely influential series Boys from the Blackstuff, that touched something deep in the collective psyche.