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:

5 September 2010

Kes is the story of Billy Casper; the unusual kid in the class with an active imagination who is bullied by half brother Jed, largely ignored by his mother and constantly teased at school. With little interest in school and few friends, Billy tames a Kestral and strikes up a strong bond with the bird. Desperate to escape his inevitable fate of working down the pit, Billy takes great pleasure from watching his bird fly free and respond to his commands.

Fantastically acted throughout, this delightful story is brought to life in a charming and effective manner and is at home on the Coliseum’s stage. Adam Barlow really captures Billy’s somewhat miserable existence with the right amount of tenderness, passion and emotion whereas Jake Norton’s Jud is dark, menacing and intimidating.
 
An incredibly hardworking set designed by Foxton is put to great use and allows the performers to make the best use of the...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

No reviews yet

Click here to add your review