STOP PRESS - 14 Jan 2004
We are very pleased to announce that we have virtually sold out the entire run of The Slab Boys at the Traverse. There is now only limited availability for the performance of Cuttin a Rug on Friday 23 January at 8pm.

We will operate a waiting list on a 'performance by performance' basis for personal callers at the Box Office Counter only. The list is started 1 hour before the show i.e. 7pm for the 8pm evening performance and once you have your name on the list you free to go to the Bar Cafe. We ask people to return to the Box Office 10 minutes prior to the start of the show and will work through any returned tickets at that point.


Directed by Roxana Silbert
Designed by Neil Warmington
Lighting by Rick Fisher
Sound by Neil Alexander
Choreography by Struan Leslie

The Traverse – original home of The Slab Boys – is thrilled to re-stage this entire seminal trilogy as the culmination of our 40th anniversary celebrations.

Paisley 1957. A F Stobo & Co Carpet Factory. It is a typical day in the slab room: Three young lads should be grinding up the powder for the paint slabs. But Spanky and Phil prefer shooting the breeze. They are young, they are sharp and they are bored. They do as little work and as much smoking as possible. Old Curry brings them up sharp but it doesn’t last long.

Spanky’s more interested in procuring a date for the annual staffie that night and that means winning Lucille. But he’s not the only one with his eye on her. There’s the ‘weed’ Hector and new boy Alan: the student with a car. The competition is tough.

Phil has other ambitions. His banter is fast and funny but home is hard and the future is bleak. He can only dream of a world outside the factory walls and a place at art school.


John Byrne was born in Paisley in 1940. He worked as a 'slab boy' at A F Stoddard, the carpet manufacturers, before going to Glasgow School of Art. There he won a scholarship in painting which enabled him to study in Italy. He then became a graphic artist at Scottish Television and later returned to A F Stoddard as a designer. He became a full time painter in 1968 following his first London exhibition.

John Byrne is also a distinguished theatre designer and playwright. Other plays include Writer's Cramp, Normal Service, Cara Coco, and Colquhoun and Macbryde. On television he is best known for his BAFTA Award-winning series Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin' Heart. He has also designed for the Traverse Theatre, 7:84, Hampstead Theatre, Bush Theatre and Scottish Opera.

Post show discussion
Thu 20 Nov

The Slab Boys Ticket
See all three shows in the trilogy for £30 (£20/ unemployed £15). Call the Traverse Box Office on 0131 228 1404 for full information and availability.

STOP PRESS - 19 Nov 2003
There has been some fantastic media coverage for our revival of John Byrne's The Slab Boys and you can get a catch up by following the links below:

A smashing four star review in The Scotsman of The Slab Boys:
www.entertainment.scotsman.com


A four star review from the Edinburgh Evening News:
www.edinburghnews.com


A major interview with Paul Thomas Hickey who plays the role of Phil in The Slab Boys trilogy:
http://www.entertainment.scotsman.com


Listen to an interview with John Byrne, writer of The Slab Boys, from BBC Radio 4's Frontrow programme:
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/frontrow