Kes

Synopsis

Up in the Yorkshire mining towns of 1960s Britain, a little hope was a dangerous thing. Social disintegration and disenchantment taught you to accept your lot; or else get the spirit kicked out of you. Yes, back then, life was certainly grim up North... Especially for our hero; streetwise school-kid Billy Casper. Emotionally neglected - bullied at school and at home - his is a pretty bleak existence; smoking, cadging money and getting into scraps...Until, that is, Kes comes along. Kes is a kestrel that Billy rears and trains; Kes is hope. Together, their friendship shines amid the gloom; but how long can it last...?

Our Review:

Michael Hunt - 23 September 2009

This year Kes celebrates 40 years of being on page, screen and stage and this new co-production by Liverpool Playhouse and The Touring Consortium continues to beat the heart of the story.

Barry Hines’ A Kestrel for a Knave has been adapted again for the stage by Lawrence Till, who uses the shortened title of Kes adopted for Ken Loach’s classic film version. Like the book and film, this new production - directed by the North Yorkshire-raised Nikolai Foster - captures a believable insight into what it was like growing up in the northern bleakness of Barnsley during the late 1960s.

Central character Billy Casper’s determination to escape the mundane reality of his life through a besotted devotion to training a kestrel chick is imaginatively interpreted. Matthew Wright’s set includes a swooping floor depicting an old, filthy rotten school gymnasiu...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

Wendy Allen - 24 October 2009:

This is a superb production. We found it really moving and thought Stefan Butler was excellent. The English teacher was really good too, but the mother, Kath Dow Blyton, almost stole the show, she was so bad as a mother - wonderful performance. I really liked the use of the stage and will look forward to seeing more productions from this company. Go and see it!...

Read more and add your own review