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, Drama, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

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

[Amyrosee Scott · 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

[Giancarlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to put into words the sense of immense validation & contentment I gleaned from reading a piece of literature with this level of polish, nuance, & linguistic inventiveness written and set in the West of Scotland. Although the play glides through the door with ease with the brilliant back-and-forth wordplay patter; what lingers are the insights on class, culture, nationhood, & mental illness. For an ambitious, funny & accessible piece to use the language in the way it is actually spoken up here must have been monumental at the time of its release. Time to binge read the other two!

[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!