Spanning the 1950s to the 70s the plays capture the rebellious mood of a post-war generation growing up to a backdrop of James Dean Elvis sharp-suited glamour hope & despair John Byrne takes the slab room he worked in & makes it pure theatre the scams the dreams the aloof but gorgeous girl the despair of life back home the obligatory tormenting of the office 'weed' & the mandatory boy chat & pranks all help the day to pass Phil & Spanky explode onto the stage in a classic vaudeville double-act Now considered one of Scotland's defining literary works of the twentieth century the Slab Boys Trilogy premiered at the Traverse back in the late 1970s & early 80s taking Scotland then Britain & then Broadway quickly by storm The Traverse revived the Slab Boys Trilogy for the theatre's fortieth anniversary in November 2003