Adapting a masterpiece is an unenviable task.
'Boys from the Blackstuff' is one of the seminal dramatic accounts of life in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. Though five of its six episodes were written before she came to power, Mrs Thatcher was riding high when Alan Bleasdale's TV drama hit screens.
The series was first broadcast in October 1982, when Mrs Thatcher was at her most popular, following victory in the Falklands.
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Meanwhile, the city of Liverpool was not enjoying such favourable fortunes. Instead, it was enduring soaring unemployment. With its docks in post-industrial decline, our city was at its lowest ebb.
Bleasdale's show followed five men at the tip of that spear - Yosser, Dixie, Chrissie, Loggo and George - unemployed tarmac layers having to battle the myriad challenges of recession-hit Liverpool. The series' unflinching look at the impact of unemployment and the desperation it causes made it an enduring tale of the era.
Now, James Graham has brought the series to the stage in devastating fashion. The writer, best known for BBC's 'Sherwood' and ITV's 'Quiz', has adapted Bleasdale's script into a masterpiece of his own.
The play, which is directed by Kate Wasserberg, opened last week at Liverpool's Royal Court. In short, it is phenomenal. Superbly acted, incredibly powerful while being equally heartbreaking and hilarious, this is theatre at its very, very best.
Graham has adapted the six part series into two hours of drama as faithfully as possible. Bleasdale's writing - particularly his devastating speeches, sharp one-liners and searing social commentary - shine through as the adaptation retains the spirit of his original work.
That spirit transfers to the stage with no issues. The audience is put through the wringer emotionally, making the communal setting of a theatre perfect for such a story.
What's more, this is an incredibly Scouse play. It is witty, full of heart and has a very firm sense of right and wrong. To no surprise, that plays very well with a Liverpool audience.
Its palpable sense of place is built by a wonderful Scouse cast, never missing a chance to cut through the bleakness facing the characters with jokes that bring the house down. The audience is dropped to the depths of despair but laughs as they're falling.
The impressive staging places you right into the Liverpool of the '80s. The remnants of industry surround the stage, trapping the characters within and bringing a haunting quality, reminding what had been.
Bleasdale's wonderfully drawn characters are blessed with fantastic performances, as they were in his series. This is a cast stacked with Merseyside acting royalty.
Garston's Barry Sloane is electrifying as Yosser Hughes - the story's most memorable character. A man who bought into a system that only ever let him down, Yosser is desperate to be someone that matters. What's more, he needs a job to support his children, right the wrongs of the past and preserve what's left of his sanity.
Sloane's presence and imposing frame means he demands your attention whenever he is on stage. In a performance which draws on Bernard Hill's enduring work as the character but isn't afraid to do things differently, Sloane thrives as Yosser is pushed further to the edge.
The 42-year-old also flourishes in more comedic moments, drawing huge laughs from the audience - in particular a scene set between Liverpool's two cathedrals. The most impressive part of the performance is, however, how Sloane can ramp up the intensity in an instant as his effervescent character suddenly finds himself in fits of rage.
That said, the entire cast is on top form. Aron Julius makes for an excellent Loggo, while Mark Womack and Andrew Schofield are perfectly cast as the comparatively understated Dixie and wise elder statesman George respectively.
As married couple Chrissie and Angie, Nathan McMullen and Lauren O'Neil are served with some of the play's best two scenes. Arguably the most powerful and best-acted spell of the production comes as Angie urges a helpless Chrissie to do whatever he can to change their fortunes. It is as moving a scene as you will see on stage - McMullen and O'Neil are phenomenal and leave the audience in ruins as they hit rock bottom.
More than 40 years after its TV premiere, 'Boys from the Blackstuff' remains the definitive depiction of 1980s working class Liverpool life. Tough, sad, but undercut by boundless spirit and humour, it is social realism at its finest.
Here, James Graham has more than done Bleasdale's series justice. You will laugh a lot, you will do well not to cry, you will leave wishing the story wasn't still so relevant. Go and see it.
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