The Slab Boys

by John Patrick Byrne

It is a Friday in 1957. Phil, Spanky and Hector are young lads working in a Paisley carpet factory as 'slab boys'. They should be grinding up powder for the paint slabs, but they prefer to do as little work as they can and smoke as much as possible.

Young, sharp and bored, they discuss their aspirations. Phil dreams of a place at Glasgow Art School, while Spanky wants to go to America and become the next Elvis. Hector dreams of taking Lucille from the mailroom to the staff dance – which is also on Spanky's agenda. Emotions are high.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama, School, Fiction

117 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

John Patrick Byrne was a Scottish playwright, screenwriter, artist and designer. He wrote The Slab Boys Trilogy, plays which explore working-class life in Scotland, and the TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin' Heart. Byrne was also a painter, printmaker and scenic designer.

Reviews

[Basil · Rating 5 out of 5]

the funniest play you'll ever read -- spanky and phil mccann are the original, funnier jack and victor tbh

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

A very funny Scottish play set in a paint factory in 1950s Paisley. Very enjoyable to both read and watch and with a very distinct sense of style and humour.

[Elwira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read for class

[mya · Rating 4 out of 5]

🖊️⊹₊⟡⋆ “Giotto used to be a Slab Boy, Spanks” ⋆˙

⎯୧ ℛeading Slab Boys for my Scottish set text will forever be a memory of taking on higher english, despite not liking the subject I’m glad I did this compared to being left with poems like last year.

It’s such an interesting play as a whole, act 1 will definitely always be my favourite act from the play as it’s so focused on building up the characters and the many different underlying issues within the play e.g. role of woman, authority, mental health, etc.

Actually analysing the play, diving into the quotes and finding the meaning behind why John Byrne made certain characters say certain things makes the play really enjoyable to read! I love how there’s so much meaning behind Slab Boys, rather than just a simple play to read. This is definitely a first to liking the play way more than the film adaptationnn

[Amyrosee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting dynamic showing different working class and upper class how it seperates the work place, shows even in dyre circumstances ambition is still strong to make the best out of the hand youve been dealt with. Shows good friendship even though there is jokes and banter deep down they want the best for each other, touching on subject of mental health within the family dynamic and how a teenager has to deal with that while trying to do better for himself while being putdown in the workplace due to his social class. Highly recomend

[Stygian Hollow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated humour, but when you figure out what it means it's kinda a bit funny. Had to read it for higher english so that may have dampened my enjoyment a little lol, but if it weren't for that I would never have heard of it because of how irrelevant it is. Act 1 is boring, Act 2 has bit of decent storytelling but nothing too crazy, it's overall just alright. Pshh whatever. Sure it would have been better if I was reading it in the 70s. Oh well.

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't really care for this one. Spent the whole time reading it wondering what the point was.

[Freya Kunz · Rating 4 out of 5]

good x

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giotto was a slab boy!