The Hard Man
by Tom McGrath and Jimmy Boyle
by Tom McGrath and Jimmy Boyle
The Hard Man is a gritty portrayal of a young man's descent into violence and crime, highlighting the brutality of prison life through the lens of Jimmy Boyle's real experiences.
About The Play
About The Play
Glasgow, the 1970s. Johnny Byrne is a young schoolboy involved in petty crime and violence. But when he meets Deadeye, he soon finds himself known as a ‘hard man’ and being convicted of murder. But it is when he is serving his sentence in Barlinnie that the real acts of brutality occur…
Based on the life of Jimmy Boyle, co-writer of the play and – at the time of its production – still a prisoner in Barlinnie Special Unit, The Hard Man is his compelling and shocking study of a brutalised man in a brutalising system.
One of multi-award-winning playwright Tom McGrath’s most enduring works, The Hard Man now receives its first performances in London since 1985 in a new production commissioned by the Finborough Theatre.
This production contains full frontal male nudity, strong language and scenes of extreme violence.