Theatre Deep Dive: David Tennant in ‘The Slab Boys Trilogy’ (1994)
A lot of you know (or may not know but are just finding out!) I’ve done tons of research on DT’s early Scottish theatre work (80s/90s) for a developing podcast to share my discoveries. Today let’s veer off and talk about a play DT alluded to in a recent interview, shall we?
In a interview with Kelly-Anne Taylor on The Radio Times Podcast, David spoke about his first job when he moved to London. “I worked at the Young Vic, that seemed unspeakably glamorous to a boy from Paisley. I mean I was doing a play set in Paisley, so I was pretty good casting!”
The play he’s referring to was called The Slab Boys Trilogy - which, as it sounds, was actually a set of three plays by Scottish playwright John Byrne. The first play in the set was called The Slab Boys. The second was Cuttin’ A Rug, and the third was Still Life.
This trilogy of plays was set in Paisley, Scotland - surprise surprise! But why? Because John Byrne is from Paisley, too, and he worked as a slab boy in a carpet factory. And what’s a slab boy? They’re the fellows who mix and grind colors for a company’s design department.
John Byrne’s a Scottish cultural institution. Byrne graduated from The Glasgow School of Art. He was once commissioned to design a possible cover for the Beatles’ White Album but his design - though rejected at the time - was used on the 1980 “Beatles Ballads” LP.
But I digress!
(…though seriously, check him out! He designed other LP covers, too, like for Gerry Rafferty and Donovan! He’s an interesting character indeed. And he was once Tilda Swinton’s partner, too, so yeah…)
But back to the play(s)!
After David finished filming Takin’ Over The Asylum in late October of 1993 (where he had met Arabella Weir), he took on the role of Edmund Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Dundee Repertory Theatre. Playing his mother in that play was the grande dame of Scottish theatre, Edith MacArthur, better known in the DT fandom as the predictor of DT’s future stardom. (And in case there are those out there who don’t know, it was MacArthur who spotted David’s talent when she saw him perform as a child in a school play called Gypsum’s Journey. MacArthur told his parents she predicted he’d be a successful stage actor and she’d probably play his mother. She was right. She did. Twice!)
So, anyway…by May 1994, David had finished his run in Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Arabella Weir had offered him a place to stay in London as her lodger if he wanted to make the trip there to try his luck, so he made his famous move to London.
But Arabella wasn’t the only lovely lady he’d met filming Takin’ Over The Asylum - he’d also met Katy Murphy (Francine). Though I don’t know exactly how David heard about or got the job on The Slab Boys Trilogy, it’s important to note Katy Murphy had a role in the play, too. Did one hear about it and tell the other? Seems likely!
So what are the plays about? In short, The Slab Boys Trilogy spans the 1950s-1970s and is about three working class young men (Phil, Spanky and Hector) who have jobs in the slab room of a carpet manufacturer.
According to the National Library of Scotland: “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 mail room to the staff dance – which is also on Spanky’s agenda.”
David got the role of Alan Downie in two parts of the trilogy - The Slab Boys and Cuttin’ A Rug. Alan was better-off than the others; his father knew the boss, and he went to work in the slab room temporarily before going off to university. The others didn’t like Alan.
Katy Murphy played Lucille.
In the second play, Cuttin’ A Rug (set on the evening immediately following the action of The Slab Boys), the boys are off to the annual factory staff dance. David’s character Alan had begun university and shows up in his father’s car with Lucille.
(The third play of the trilogy, Still Life, was set in a cemetery on the morning of a winter’s day in 1967 for Act One, and Act Two on a winter’s afternoon in 1972. David wasn’t a part of this one, so I don’t have as many facts on it as I do the others.)
Now we’ve established what the plays were about, let’s talk about how they were received. All three plays ran at London’s Young Vic from 9 September 1994 til 12 November 1994. Directed by Tim Supple, the set and costume designer was John Byrne himself!
During the week, the three plays were in rep - meaning each was performed on successive nights - except for Saturdays, when all were back to back: The Slab Boys began at 11a, Cuttin’ A Rug at 2:30p, and Still Life at 7:30p. You could see the set for £24, or each for £6-£12.
Reviews were generally good (“an exhilarating example of true ensemble work” and “performed with considerable power”). But it wasn’t a box office win, and only drew in less than 40% of the revenue it needed to break even. It wasn’t of great benefit to the Young Vic.
But - along with the premiere of Takin Over The Asylum in late September 1994, which introduced David to the world at large - The Slab Boys/Cuttin’ A Rug has the distinction of being the first theatre job David got upon moving to London. His second was What The Butler Saw. But that’s for later.😁
Now if you’ve stuck with me this long, you deserve a goodie! Official photographs for the play’s run at the Young Vic were taken by Billy Cooper (and a few from the play with David in them float about out there.) The goodie today is this: this is a clip from STV doing a feature on John Byrne at the time of the run at the Young Vic. If you look really close, you can see a brief (like “if-you-blink-a-few-times-you’ll-miss-him”) video of David in the play! He’ll be the fellow in the white coat.